Unholy Rose
by atheistbasementdragon
Summary: Branch story from God Rising: The Cult of Ainz. This story depicts events through the eyes of Blue Rose as they venture into the Roble Holy Kingdom, what will they make of this changing landscape, and the divergent paths of their past acquaintances, Neia Baraja and Remedios Custodio. Will they embrace the changing times, or fight the tide to their final breath?
1. Breaking Expectations

"So...we're really doing this are we?" Gagaran said with a rare hint of nervousness in her voice. Nobody was critical of her question, the adamantite adventurer team 'Blue Rose' was standing on the norther border of the Abelion Hills, a land inhabited by demihumans, a land now controlled by an undead king, a land from which kingdom wrecking army had ventured forth.

Blue Rose was a team renowned for their courage, skill, and fortitude...but only the foolish fear nothing, only those who desire to die, feel no anxiety about risk. Being neither foolish nor desiring to die, they felt both, but with a deep breath coming out of her lungs, Lakyus replied, "Yes." and took the fateful step forward as if she expected the land itself to open and swallow her up. But step she did, and she breathed in deeply as if relieved. Then she took another step, and her team followed her.

They started walking, and for several hours there was nothing, just the green rolling hills, the twittering of birds, and the sound of wind through the occasional bush or collection of trees. Most of the day had passed before they heard something different, the sound of activity of a more artificial sort.

It was the sound of hammering and shoveling taking place over the next rise. Unsure of what lay beyond the rise, Blue Rose's five members glanced at one another, and then quickly spit off onto opposing sides of the road. Tia and Tina had taken opposing sides from one another and, being specialized in stealth they swiftly moved up to a position from which they could observe, and their mouths fell open at what they say.

At the bottom of the hill there were skeletons digging post holes on either side, which other skeletons placed wooden posts into, and which others came behind to fill in, behind them came demihumans running wooden poles between them, and behind them came more who dipped brushes into buckets of pitch and sealed the wooden pieces together. Fences...they were making fences. On the outside of the fences, more skeletons were digging trenches, and the earth from those was laid in the center inside the area between the fences, raising the earth in those places by several inches. The width was great enough to allow three carriages to pass abreast of one another...a road...it was a road going North into what had been the border with the Sorcerous Kingdom. Farther away there were various types of demihumans hauling materials up to where the skeletons were working, looking farther away, they could see that this was an assembly line process, and most shocking of all, the saw dwarves setting stakes in place in the road area, atop each stake was a cross shaped piece of wood from which string hung, the bottom of each being secured by a weight, each odd device had stakes put beyond it, one after another the other by a considerable distance, and the ones placing lone stakes seemed to be responding to the instructions by the one at the odd device, each, adjusting their positions, and using signal flags to communicate as they went farther away from one another. Whatever was happening, each time both raised the same flag, demihumans approached and began hammering stakes in along the way, apparently indicating course.

It was all so thoroughly confounding that Tia and Tina both almost forgot to look for weapons or signs of hostility. Professionalism won out however, and they went through the usual questions of who, what, where, how, and how many, before reporting back to their companions on each side of the road.

Lakyus considered what to do, this was a new situation. Had there not been dwarves among them, she'd have recommended bypassing the area entirely, but as it was the presence of dwarves suggested nonhostility, since demihumans that were hostile would surely eat any dwarf just as readily as they would a human. She gave a hand signal and called the team back together.

"I'm going to say hello." Lakyus said.

"Are you sure?" Evileye asked, "It seems reckless."

"So is this...contract, but here we are, and they don't seem to be hostile." Tia replied.

"Give me just a few minutes, and if they're not hostile, well I'll call you to me, if they are, well I trust my roses to come to my rescue." Lakyus said with a sweet smile.

That was greeted by shrugs of acceptance, and Lakyus stepped out of their hidden position and walked over the hill, she stopped at the top and waited for herself to be spotted. When she was, she didn't get the reaction she expected, no one rushed to arms, nobody responded with hostility for the most part nobody even seemed to care.

This blithe indifference to her presence made her more curious than anything else, and so she went down the hill to investigate, eventually coming close to the dwarf most distant from the others.

"Hello." She said politely.

The dwarf paused his work with a stake, raised a hand to stop her for a moment, then took out a flag and signaled, the dwarf in the distance appeared to have put his hands on his hips, but he did stop working. When this was done, the short dark bearded dwarf turned to her and said gruffly, "Hello to you."

He said nothing else, just stared at her for a moment, when Lakyus seemed to lack words, he turned away saying, "Goodbye." and made to resume his work.

"Wait a moment." Lakyus said, "What...exactly is going on here?"

"Ain't it obvious lady?" The gruff dwarf asked. "We're building a road for his majesty, leading from the interior of the Abelion Hills all the way to the city of E-Rantel, as well as to Carne village and a few other places. Its a lot of work, so if you don't mind..."

Lakyus was not inclined to take the hint. "You're working with demihumans and the undead." She said.

"You noticed that didja? Sharp eyes yah got there." He said in a voice that dripped with sarcasm.

She blushed. "What I mean is, aren't you worried? You know, that they'll eat you or tear you apart?"

The dwarf stared at her like she was stupid. "Are you crazy?" He asked, stroking his beard and giving her a hard eyed look, "Or are you not from here?"

It was her turn to be sarcastic and she replied, "Of course I'm from here, don't you realize that humans live all over the Abelion Hills?"

He did a double take for a moment, and then started to laugh heartily. "Ah ye got me there lass. Alright, to answer yer question the answer is no. Those demihumans are citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom. All of them, the goaty looking folks, the bafolk, the snakemen, the ogres and orcs, all of em, and the skeletons, they're under the control of the wand bearer, and he's a citizen too, in this case one workin for the Sorcerer King. So we're forbidden doncha know? We're not allowed to fight except in sport, or eat each other ever."

Lakyus did a double take of her own. "And...you obey these rules?"

"We're workin together aren't we?" He asked with a grin. "I'm on of the surveyors, Gimel's the name. Down there is me partner and cousin, Kivel. "

"And...what's that device your cousin is using?" Lakyus said, now intrigued.

"That's a groma." Gimel explained. "Its a tool the Sorcerer King gave us for surveying in open land, see he stakes that into place, and that weight hangs down, then I lay the stake and we look down the middle, if the weight and stake line up at eye level for the both of us, we signal, and then someone stakes out the path, and that way we keep on course. Its actually pretty brilliant. But then, so is his majesty." Gimel said admiringly.

"Remarkable." Lakyus said, thinking of the often haphazard way roads were guided in Re-Estize, by guesswork and...more guesswork.

"The trenches allow for drainage and the earth goes on top of the road to allow it to drain even more easily by giving it some height above the rest of the area around it, behind us by several days are people laying down stones to keep the road in good condition, and the fences keep people from falling into the trenches when visibility is low or someone is just not paying attention." Gimel explained.

"The Sorcerer King is...not what I was expecting." Lakyus said.

Gimel shrugged, "Never assume, not when it comes to that one." He said simply.

"So, can I and my team pass safely? We're not part of the Sorcerer Kingdom." She asked.

"You can, his majesty has expressly forbidden aggression against any traveler, as long as that traveler is not attacking anyone, then they are considered to be safe and beyond threatening." Gimel said politely.

"Thank you." Lakyus said, "I'll retrieve my companions then, and you'll pardon us I hope if we choose to pass a comfortable distance from the heteromorphs and demihumans."

Gimel grunted indifferently and turned back to his work, raising his flag to indicate renewed effort. Lakyus went back over the hill and whistled for the rest of the roses, they were quick to her side and she explained what she'd learned. It was an uncomfortable conversation, chiefly in that it lead to a defiance of their expectations by the reality in front of them.

They gave the road work a wide berth, but nonetheless could not peel their eyes away from it as they went by, to see goat men and snake men and ogres and skeletons and creatures of all kinds, whom they knew in principle lived apart from one another in all cases but the war against the Holy Kingdom, now working together peacefully? What could one say to such a sight?

Answers evaded them for two days solid as they passed along the road, keeping distance enough to be largely overlooked, or treated indifferently if they were noticed at all by those continuing the work behind the advance party, stones were laid down on a persistent basis, they could see large creatures pulling enormous wagons, skeletons laying stone and dwarves making minute adjustments. At one point well beyond being observed as those workers moved ahead, Evileye paused and everyone halted in confusion. "I want to see." She said simply. They knew immediately what she meant.

"Seriously shorty?" Gagaran said incredulously? "You want to go look at the road?"

Evileye nodded. "I do."

"Its just a road." Gagran said. "Why take the chance on being seen?"

"We've already been seen." Evileye pointed out, "Twice now in fact, but we haven't seen what the final product looks like up close."

Gagaran sighed, "Fine, but we shouldn't all abandon our position and you shouldn't go alone."

Lakyus nodded in agreement. "Tia, Tina, back her up, but stay hidden, we'll remain farther back to intercede with you if we need to. Tia and Tina disappeared from view as they made use of their ninja skills, and Evileye walked casually up to the road like she hadn't a care in the world. When she reached it, she looked around, left and right, up and down it's length, and then stepped on it with one foot, like she was testing a bath to see if the water was to hot or not, and then gradually she put her foot down to the heel. She paced around the stone and took a closer look. The stones were cut to uniform thickness, and on either side of the road there were slightly higher stones creating a kind of border, and every few feet there was a gap in the border that had a ramp shaped stone, clearly for draining, but what struck her most profoundly was that the stones on the border had glowing markings on them, each in the same place on the stone, meaning they'd obviously been mass produced.

She walked back to Gagaran and Lakyus, glad that her mask hid the expression of awe on her face. Tia and Tina promptly reappeared, and Evileye said, "He's enchanted the road. I don't know with what, but many of the stones on the road border are marked with runes, I don't read runes, but its been mass produced, whatever it is."

Lakyus, the daughter of nobility, knew all to well the cost of magic, to use it on a mere road was...unthinkable in Re-Estize. (*AN: I cannot claim credit for this idea, though it probably would have occurred to me, the one who thought of it before me is the author of 'Masks They Wear' and if you haven't read that story, you should.) For him to do this showed not only an abundance of resources, but also a dedication to long term thinking. She thought of the rain drenched roads of the capitol, she thought of the ones in the country that turned into muck and sinkholes in the heavy rains, the way travel was slowed and sometimes made dangerous or even impossible on them. She shook her head as if trying to shake away an unpleasantly positive thought about the Sorcerer King.

They resumed walking, and the following morning after a silent breakfast and more silent walking, found themselves nearing what appeared to be a large town, that in and of itself was jarring, because while they knew the Argland City Council State had demihuman cities, the Abelion Hills was chiefly tribal, made up of small villages and chiefs who came together only loosely, there WERE no large population centers.

They paused again. "Decision time Roses...do we go in, or do we stay out and bypass it?" Gagaran took out her hammer and rested it's formidable head on the ground. "That dwarf said we're safe, and we've passed by several groups with no trouble. I normally wouldn't want to chance it, but...by the gods the uncertainty is eating at me." She sighed heavily, Tia and Tina nodded in unison and agreement.

Lakyus looked at Evileye. "I agree with Gagaran, we're already in uncertain territory, and it can only get more uncertain the less we know about what lies ahead of us, lets go in, if they're hostile, well...we're Blue Rose, we'll fight our way out and remind them what it means to mess with Adamantite ranked adventurers." Evileye's voice was vigorous and feisty, it warmed Lakyus's heart to hear it.

"Alright, we go in to the lion's den." She said, not coincidentally as she saw a lion man approach the town's gate.

They kept their hands near their weapons, but approached the gate with the confidence of veteran warriors, the confidence of the strong, and when they reached the gate, a bafolk watchman looked at them in surprise. "Humans?" he said with surprise.

"What are you doing here?" He said incredulously.

"Are we forbidden from entry?" Lakyus asked.

That gave the fellow pause. "No...but...we don't exactly see a lot of humans here." He replied.

"Well, we're travelers and we'd like to stay overnight, if we're not prohibited from entry, will you open the gate for us?" Lakyus asked.

While she waited for an answer, she looked the defenses over, the walls were logs, single pieces with the tops sharpened to points at the top, there were small towers at regular intervals, but what caught her eye most was that those intervals were precise, and intended to allow the different towers to cover one another. Though it was not exactly an impregnable fortress, as a town fortification, it was well above the norm.

"Yes, you may enter," he said, "welcome to the town of Commonton."

The gates swung open slowly, and Blue rose slowly walked through. "Thank you." Lakyus said politely, receiving a grunt of acknowledgement as they passed out of sight.

Inside the town the buildings were also mostly made of solid trees cut to length, but not a few were of stone, all of them were large, but the size seemed to be standardized, and it took a moment before Lakyus realized that it was so any of the varying races could enter any building. The roads were, shockingly enough, also paved, and the streets were patrolled by armored demihumans, mostly bafolk, but several lionmen and snakemen as well. They moved in disciplined ranks in groups of eight, and seemed to be following a specific route. The common buildings were readily apparent by virtue of signs hanging outside, much like a human town the symbols for inn, tavern, blacksmith, and so on were obvious.

The adventurer team walked slowly but confidently, and drew a fair number of strange looks, but nobody accosted or even approached them as they went to building evidently marked as an inn...to Gagaran's relief, below the sign for inn, there was the universal indication of a tavern hanging below that, telling her she could also get a drink there. At this stage of the journey, she found herself in need of one.

Lakyus lead the way to the building, and inside she heard something she'd never heard from demihumans before...it was music. They were playing music and...singing?

With a baffled expression, she opened the door and found a bafolk playing a two headed flute and bounding about on stage, and various demihumans were singing a drinking song while waving mugs around, the entry of the five humans gave a gradual pause to the evident festivities, but they did their best to ignore the demihuman stares as they approached the bar. The bartender was a snakeman with several heads, it was giving instructions to servers of various races, but turned two of those heads to the five adventurous humans while it cleaned a mug in its hands.

"You're far from home." It said in a voice that was somewhere between threatening and disbelief...as near as Lakyus could tell anyway.

"We are, we're on our way to fulfill a contract, and we're passing through here...obviously." She said flatly.

"Well, welcome to Commonton." The demihuman said simply with a mild shrug.

"This town?" Lakyus began to ask.

"What about it?" The bartender probed.

"Can you tell me about it?" She asked.

It shrugged. "Why not? Commonton is short for 'common town' after the Sorcerer King conquered the area...and all the other things that happened afterwards, a lot of tribes were very low in numbers, that fight in the human kingdom did not go as well in the long term as it did in the short." It paused, "Your people are more fierce than we anticipated." It added.

"Thank you. We rather have to be, look who we must compete with?" Lakyus said, and it puffed up a bit at the compliment, and she detected an air of hostility melt away somewhat.

"Anyway, after we were beaten and our numbers decreased, the Sorcerer King proclaimed that the weakness we suffered most from had now been made worse." He began, and Lakyus raised her hand slightly to ask...

"Weakness?" Her voice had some curiosity.

"Yes. We were divided, like fingers twitching on a hand, he said we should be united like a fist, and with our decreased numbers, our separateness had made that weakness even worse. So he decreed the formation of common towns, where all of us would share space with each other. Orc, lizardman, lionman, bafolk, and all others. The only ones who don't live here are the Zern, they ventured North into the Sorcerer Kingdom, along with some of the orc tribes that didn't settle in towns like this one. This one is called 'Commonton' because ours was the first to be completed, there are around a dozen towns that I know of, with villages surrounding many of them." The snakeman's two heads said in unison.

"You don't fight each other anymore?" Lakyus asked.

"We actually do...but in a small arena this town built, but we don't fight to the death, we fight for glory and for fun and for profit, but the Sorcerer King said anyone worth fighting once, is worth fighting twice, and anyone dying without need was dying to soon, so he decreed an end to both our bloodshed and our feuds." The snakeman seemed to smile. "Its the first time I've had a clutch where all my young got to live without some other tribe raiding, capturing, and eating some of them.

"So you...support this?" Lakyus said with surprise, her worldview rocked further as she imagined for the first time, that a demihuman race like this might actually care about it's young.

"I'm a mother, of course I do. I want my children to grow up." The snakeman...snakewoman, said. Lakyus nodded numbly as the most natural sentence in the world came from the most unlikely source imaginable to her.

"So...how do things work here?" She asked, "Oh and can my friends and I have a beer?" She asked further as the rest of Blue rose sat along the bar.

"None for me thanks." Evileye said.

"I'm out of the dwarven stuff, the dwarves drank it all, you alright with a local brew?" The snakewoman asked.

"Sure, set us up." Lakyus said, and laid down some silver Re-Estize coins, the bartender began to pour and set the mugs out as she spoke, "Well each race has a council seat, the council seat holders are selected by the members of each race, and the council sends its requests up to the Sorcerer King. For crimes the Sorcerer King imposes truth spells, so you acquit or convict yourself, and are released or punished accordingly. Most punishments are with hard labor, but more serious crimes can be punished as highly as being sent to the Sorcerer King's home, nobody returns from that." She shuddered, and Lakyus became curious.

"Does it happen often?" She asked the bartender, taking a drink as she waited to hear the answer.

"No. Its really just murder or banditry, and nobody among us has much of a chance against his bandit hunters, so with a few exceptions, everybody has to learn how to make a peaceful living." The bartender said. "So long as any individual keeps the social contract, they're accorded the full protection of the law. Now, I have only so many heads and much to do, I wish I could spend more time with you, but I do have other customers so..." She held out one hand palm up, prompting them to finish their business.

"Oh...yes of course, thank you very much, you've been very helpful. We'll need a room for the night for the five of us." Lakyus said, and held out several coins.

"The bartender took them and then reached under the bar and took out a key. Up the stairs and fifth door on the right, you'll need to be out by the cock's crow tomorrow or pay for another day." Lakyus nodded and the group finished their drinks, "Excellent brew by the way, tell the local brewmaster he should be proud, its as good as any dwarven ale." Gagaran said as she stood up, and the bartender gave what seemed to be a smile, fearsome as it was, "Our brewmaster is a bearman, he'll be very pleased to hear your praise."

Blue Rose mounted the stairs together, the tavern area had long since resumed its merry atmosphere, and as odd as the human band might have seemed to them all, to Blue Rose, seeing this was far, far more strange.

They spent the rest of the day in their rooms discussing what they'd seen, drawing no firm conclusions except that the Sorcerer King had been very busy reforming the areas he seized control of, what most disconcerted the entire party was summed up best by Evileye.

"His reforms are very...humane." She said.

"Its disturbingly rational." Lakyus said. "I suppose we should be glad he's not just killing wildly but...to see such a considerable break with the normal behavior of the undead, I don't know what to make of it."

"Maybe you're overthinking it?" Gagaran suggested tentatively.

"How do you mean?" Tia and Tina asked together.

"Well, think about it, suppose the only experience anyone had with human women was limited to those of peasant villages, and then they met us, we'd throw them for a loop wouldn't we? We'd be way beyond the norm of their experience." Gagaran said uncertainly and took a deep breath.

They paused to let her finish, and she continued, "Well, we're an exception, maybe instead of thinking of this undead as a normal undead, we should treat it as if its something we've never seen before." She said, and spread her hands questioningly.

There was a round contemplative expressions after that, though behind her mask, Evileye's was hidden, silently kicking herself for not having thought of that herself. After all, almost all vampires simply saw humans as prey, but here she was an undead vampire who loved her human sisters and protected humanity. It brought a pang to her that she had to remain hidden behind the mask she wore, but that was the price to be paid, and she paid it willingly.

The hours waned and they gradually grew tired. "Shall we set a watch?" Tia asked.

"Yes." Lakyus said, "It seems safe, but I don't like the assumption. Two hours each and we leave at dawn. Tia, you're up first, then Tina, then Gagaran, then me, then Evileye."

"Understood." They said together, and they took their respective positions. The room was sizable, meant for a party, and the beds were larger than average, clearly meant for larger races, it was all in all, fairly comfortable, with the wooden furniture simply made and the mattresses stuffed with straw, perhaps not a noble establishment, but good enough in its pragmatic construction. It was plenty for a team used to roughing it outdoors, and one by one they drifted off, as Tia settled into the first shift, the rest dreamed good dreams.

**AN: Welcome to 'Unholy Rose' I hope you found the first chapter entertaining, this fiction will be short, no more than ten chapters, and it will lead all the way up to the events in the South before it comes to a close and the characters feature prominently in the main story of 'God Rising'. Now just a heads up, you WILL see a few overlapping passages word for word from one or two other stories, specifically because this story carries through those events and they're not being omitted, no not much, just a paragraph or two, its not that way as filler, its because you're following this story through their own view of things, and they'll necessarily overlap in one or two spots. I may annotate the chapter accordingly so you know where it is as well, but we'll see as far as that goes. Of course, reviews are appreciated along the way. Oh, incidentally, a 'groma' is a real thing used by ancient Rome in road construction since they didn't have more modern surveying equipment. Ainz has drawn on his world's history to 'create' new tools for this new world. **


	2. Beyond the Abelion Border

The night passed without incident and Blue Rose descended as a group to find demihumans of various sorts eating around the tavern, they were surprised to find that the smell of cooking was...very good. They looked around and, as before drew many curious looks, but no comment. On tables there were drinks that were mostly water, but some juices and even some hot drinks were not uncommon. On the tables themselves they expected to awaken to nightmare and see them eating human meat, but this was not the case. The familiar smell of beef, chicken, and other nonintelligent animals filled the air, and a familiar multiheaded snakewoman was at the bar.

"Good morning Blue Rose." She said politely with one of her heads, while the others barked orders to various servers and looked around for things in the tavern that needed doing. "Slept well I see, no one disturbed your rest?" She asked sardonically.

"So, you know who we are?" Lakyus said with a smile, adroitly avoiding the latter question.

The snakewoman shrugged, "It wasn't that hard to figure out, you're fairly well known for both good and bad reasons, a few questions after you left and when one of you was recognized, the rest fell into place." One of her heads replied.

"What actually IS our reputation among demihumans?" Evileye asked curiously.

The snakewoman put out five cups, pulling one away when Evileye politely declined, and placed it in front of each of them, and began to fill it with a hot, sweet smelling beverage. "Good, if you want to know the truth, we've heard that you fought against the Sunlit scripture to protect demihumans. But...you've also killed demihumans in the course of your contracts."

That caused them to tense up a bit, and the snakewoman let out a soothing hiss from one of her heads. "That matters less than you might think," she reassured them, "most of us price strength highly, and fights happen, wars happen, maybe the ones you killed were right, maybe you were right, but fighting it out was all that could be done. And if it matters, I have heard you don't torture us for fun, so...while some might bear grudges if they lost a few friends to you, don't expect to be mistreated by most of us." She finished, and mixed milk in with the warm drink, "Please help yourselves to some tea, its on the house, but breakfast you'll have to buy."

"Where can we pick up some supplies around here?" Lakyus asked.

"Down the street one block around the corner, look for building 22A. That shop is called 'The stationary Cart', they supply most travelers" The snakewoman said.

"Those numbers? What are they?" Gagaran asked.

"Oh that is another innovation of the Sorcerer King." She said. "Each building has a number and dual use buildings have letters for each segment, for example 22B sells farming goods and is a different store. If you wanted to convey a message to somebody, you simply put the message on something that identifies the city, street, and building number, and then couriers carry these things from one city to another, then at each town we have a different building where those messages go, then they have their own couriers who go around town delivering messages to different buildings." The snakewoman said.

"That's..." Tia said.

"Genius..." Tina finished, and they looked at each other in surprise.

"Can anyone use this system?" Lakyus asked with eyebrows raised.

"Yes." The snakewoman said, "But you have to pay for the seal to be affixed at the central building for distribution, the price is one copper coin for letters, one silver for small packages, one gold coin for large packages. Also it is only in use in the Sorcerous Kingdom. I heard that they've started expanding this to the Baharuth Empire, but that is going to take a substantial amount of time, for now it is only going in the Capitol and, oddly enough, one noble's township. The list of locations is at the distribution building if you want. Look for a sign that says 'Post Office'." She said.

Lakyus thanked the snakewoman as they finished their tea. "That was delicious, we'd best be on our way, thank you for the lovely stay." She said, and walked out with a pale expression her face at the fresh revelation of an Ainz Ooal Gown backed innovation.

As they walked, they took note of their surroundings, the streets were being cleaned by a small number of orcs on either side of the street who carried bags for garbage and brooms for sweeping, a patrol passed between them without notice, and Lakyus noticed that there were medium sized containers at regular intervals, which were evidently used for refuse as she saw the orcs emptying them and putting them back into place.

It was the little things like this that disturbed her the most, the minute attention to detail, even more than the broad changes like this 'post office'. The shop they wanted was open, and they entered quietly, keeping their thoughts to themselves as they moved around the store and gathered goods. A bearman was at the counter and stared at them open mouthed in a way that was...quite frankly more cute than insulting, as he obviously had not expected humans to visit, his black fur seemed to stand on end and his eyes followed them everywhere, he seemed very tense. However Blue Rose politely ignored his discomfort gathered supplies like jerky, bread, and simple disposable goods, approached, and paid in silver without saying a word.

When they left the store, they walked towards the other end of town, still drawing funny looks, but doing their own share of gaping in return, it wasn't until they had gotten all the way to the other side and walked out the other gate...and gotten out of hearing distance, that Lakyus spoke her mind.

"Have you thought through the implications of what we learned?" She asked her team as she walked with such swiftness that even the very tall Gagaran had to take long steps to keep up with her.

"What do you mean?" Gagaran asked.

"Think about that message distribution system." She said.

"What about it?" Gagaran asked in confusion.

Evileye's face changed its expression behind her mask, and she answered as the other three were clearly still thinking. "Currently who sends messages routinely?" She asked.

"Nobles, merchants, guild leaders, that kind of thing." Tia answered.

"Right." Evileye said. "What do all of those have in common?" She asked.

"They can all read and write." Tina said.

"OK, so who would benefit from having their building labeled for these messages to easily reach them?" Lakyus picked up where Evileye left off.

"The nobles, merchants, guild leaders...and so on." Gagaran said, still confused, while behind her the twins expressions said that understanding had begun to dawn on them.

"So...why bother labeling EVERY building...unless he expects that EVERYBODY will be able to use this system?" Evileye asked Gagaran directly.

"But...they can't?" The not the sharpest tool in the shed said.

"Right, but if he promotes literacy to everybody...then everybody can. Can't they?" Lakyus asked Gagaran, leading her to the answer.

"Wait...you mean he plans on having everybody in his domains learn to read and write?" Gagaran asked incredulously.

"That is the most reasonable conclusion I can draw." Lakyus said. "I can barely believe it myself, but...why else would he bother?"

That was a sobering thought, a thought that kept them silent well into the long walk over the border into the Holy Kingdom, but the silence was not the unhappiness of atrocity or misery, instead, for modest to very well educated members of Blue Rose who had come to appreciate the value of learning to various degrees, it was a positive thought that did not square with expectations.

It was the first really relaxing thought they'd had in awhile, and Lakyus loved feeling relaxed. It wasn't something an adventurer got to feel all that often. "Can you believe that?" She asked. "We stayed in a demihuman inn, in a demihuman village, we didn't have to fight, we didn't have to argue, and the village didn't even care that we were there. When was the last time that happened?" The morning sun felt good on her as she rode with her team around her.

"Last time that happened, was when I had to fight the Sunlit scripture over their attempt at massacring demihumans." Evileye said. "I mean its not unprecedented, but its...unusual at least, not without something significantly beneficial to them."

"Do you know what the hell the innkeeper was talking about though?" Gagaran asked.

"You mean with that whole 'social contract' thing?" Tia asked. "No idea. I didn't sign any contract, though I guess we did accept this one going into the Holy Kingdom...but that doesn't have anything to do with the Abelion hills."

"How was it that he said it?" Tina asked.

"Under the rule of the Sorcerer King, all who accept the social contract may pass in peace." Evileye repeated.

"At a guess," Lakyus said, "it refers to the expectation that everybody will follow the law of the land, but he's an undead, so who knows, for now it is enough to know that it got us a roof for the night in total safety, and now we're getting in some very useful and very profitable work. By this afternoon we'll be at our first village...kind of odd that it would be so close to the Abelion hills now that I think about it...but that is a question we can ask about on arrival."

There was a collective shrug among the team, and they went quiet as they felt the air change around them, it became oppressive, dangerous, their senses tingled. They tightened their grips on their horses, and then they saw it as they crested a hill. A towering undead monster carrying an enormous shield and a sword almost as long as a man was tall, behind it were twenty or so skeletons, and in front of the monster stood a single black clad human.

"Blue Rose! Danger! Protect the human!" Lakyus snapped and drew her dark sword and spurred her horse forward, the others were only a half a breath behind her, she knew that without even looking, her sword was held out beside her and she lowered herself close to the neck of her horse, every instant, every fraction of an instant, counted when it came to the threat posed by the undead towards ordinary people.

The black clad man turned towards Blue Rose as the sound of hooves and shouting reached him, and his confusion became shock and fear, "Bandits! Death knight, DEFEND ME!" He shouted and the undead stepped in front of him, and let out a terrifying bellow. Blue Rose was not even twenty yards away when they saw what happened, and they reared their horses back suddenly in shock as the towering legendary undead got in front of the human being.

"Halt! Wait!" Lakyus shouted, and the rest of her team, a half a hair slower than herself at realizing what just happened, reared back on their horses as well. Lakyus sheathed her sword and looked to the rest of her team and said very carefully, "Put...your weapons...away."

They looked at her like she'd gone mad, but out of regard for a long built sense of trust, they did as she said.

Lakyus called out, "Wait! We're not bandits, we're adventurers. I mean you no harm, come out please." She said, and the man poked his head out from behind the undead knight, and then seeing that their weapons were away, he stepped out. "You can come closer," he said, "He won't attack without my say so." The man reached out and touched the death knight, placing one palm on its arm, and the monster did not react even a little.

"Did you...summon that thing?" Evileye asked incredulously?

The man actually laughed. "Oh by the god of justice and commerce, no. "I'm no magic user, I'm just a farmer taking a delivery."

"A WHAT?!" Gagaran, Tia, and Tina asked simultaneously.

"A farmer taking a delivery." He said again.

"A delivery of...what?" Evileye asked.

"These." He said, gesturing to the skeletons. "I rent undead labor from the temples to use on the farm. They're not smart, but they take direction well, it makes the work go faster and they're completely reliable."

The mouths of the Blue Rose team dropped in collective shock.

"You have...got to be kidding me." Lakyus said.

"No, its becoming a pretty common practice among us." He said.

"Us?" Evileye asked.

"Black Justice followers, we've adopted the faith of our founder, Pope Neia Baraja, who follows the Sorcerer King, her temples to him rent out the undead provided by his majesty, but only to members."

Several pairs of eyes turned to Lakyus. "Are you still sure about this contract?" Gagaran asked.

"Lets just say I now want to know a lot more than we did when we started." Lakyus replied. First we see a mixed demihuman town, figure out at least one future plan of the Sorcerer King that defies expectations, see a construction project my Kingdom couldn't even imagine using tools we've never seen, and now we see an ordinary peasant taking a delivery of skeletons from a legendary undead that I don't know if we could handle." She shook her head, "This is all to much." She said, to a round of agreement from her team.

"Can we follow you to your village?" She asked.

"To my town you mean?" He said with a small but friendly laugh, "Sureyacan." He said, "Follow me, its only a few minutes from here." He said.

"Wait...what do you mean only a few minutes?" Evileye asked. "Commonton isn't that far away. Do you not realize how close you live to demihumans? You know, the same ones who invaded your kingdom?"

The peasant stopped in his tracks and turned back to Blue Rose and looked them over. "Yes, I know where we are, and yes I know where they are. But the Sorcerer King asked us to move to a place bordering his Kingdom, and we were honored to fulfill his request, he expressly bought that land from King Caspond for us to settle, our savior would never put us at risk lightly, he gave us our lives back, and if you plan on insulting his majesty, then you will not be welcome in our home." He said firmly.

Lakyus was quick to respond, "No insult is intended sir," she said warmly, "Its just, well the war was devastating enough that even we heard about it, and its just hard to imagine you'd live close to the same people who were responsible for it." She said.

His expression softened and he noticeably relaxed. "I understand, now way you'd have known all this, but listen, Jaldabaoth is the one who did all that, he forced them, now I'm not going to say there are no hard feelings, but the way of Black Justice is to call the guilty, guilty, not those who only look like the guilty, and pretty much everybody who took part in that invasion is dead or in hiding. The ones over there," he gestured back the way Blue Rose had come, "they fought for the Sorcerer King, and the Sorcerer King came and rescued us all the way up to the final battle, and he marched with them. There's no one left I'm allowed to hate for that war, not as far as I know. So we trade with them regularly, and we're even sending up a petition to his majesty to put a road between Foundoton...that's my town by the way...and Commonton." The man said enthusiastically.

He'd started walking again, the skeletons following behind him, and Blue Rose flanking him as they walked together, it wasn't long before they reached a farm and the a house, and could see walls similar to those of Commonton beyond it, and out of the house came several young men, evidently laborers, the peasant farmer had a brief conversation, gave the wand to one of the men, and the skeletons followed the laborers to the field to begin work. They paused for a bit to watch as the skeletons began to work under human direction, and then resumed walking with their new companion.

"So...why do you call this Foundoton?" Gagaran asked.

"Because here is where we 'founded our town'" He said with a smile, and they rolled their collective eyes at the pun. He laughed, "Zeka is to blame, see we got the request to build a town of Black Justice believers from Neia Baraja through Robel and Gilcrest, two important leaders in the capitol, it was supposedly passed to her through the Sorcerer King, and when we were told the area to choose from, which was easy, then we got to arguing over what to name it, and Zeka, my wife, said it doesn't matter if we named it "boiled shit" as long as somebody started building and we finally founded our town. Someone thought she said, 'Foundoton' and it stuck, and that was that. It was funny at the time." He said with a wry indulgent grin as they drew closer to the gates.

"So how many live here?" Lakyus asked.

"Around three hundred families, maybe fifteen hundred people, but we have so much land around us that we've sent out notices that any Black Justice follower who settles here will get fifty acres of farmland to himself and the town would pay for the first season's rental of undead labor. As a result, we're expanding by a family or two every week. We even had a Commonton resident ask about buying land here, but the crown is still taking a dim view of that, so we had to express a reluctant and apologetic no, but we did promise to hold some land aside for a year if the policy changes." He said with a sense of pride. As they moved through the gate, the first thing Lakyus noticed was that there were letters and numbers on the buildings, even the wooden buildings had an inlaid stone panel with numeric identification.

"Are you...part of the postal system of the Sorcerer Kingdom?" Lakyus asked in surprise.

"Sure are." He said proudly, "Though for now we're only using it with Commonton and the Capitol temple. We recently requested a series of priests be sent out, one for ourselves, and then some to go in to the Abelion Hills."

The collective mouths of Blue Rose dropped open. "You mean to have demihumans in the same religion as yourselves?" Lakyus asked.

"Why not?" He asked curiously.

Lakyus closed her mouth, she could think of no answer, and instead they focused on looking around them, the children they saw were well fed, and the soldiers, all humans, seemed to be well disciplined, they marched in a formation that was curiously identical to the demihumans, and similar to what they saw in Commonton, small groups of humans seemed to keep the streets cleaned by walking on either side and looking for rubbish. The streets were not paved, but they'd obviously been made with that in mind for the future.

"So...you can all read and write?" Lakyus guessed.

The man shook his head, "Nah, but we're getting a teacher, they should actually be here tomorrow if you'd like to stay the night, I'll betcha the mayor would be happy to show yah round." He said with a smile.

"I'd like that, I think we'd all like that." Lakyus said, looking at her team, their faces, save Evileye who was hidden behind her mask, wore expressions of some relief to be surrounded by their fellow humans.

"Great, I'll show yah to the inn, but then I've got to get to the square, I do have business to conduct doncha know?" He said in a friendly sort of huff, and Lakyus took out a few gold coins from her pouch and pressed them into his hand, "Call this an apology for earlier, and an expression of gratitude for helping us out now." She said, and he looked surprised, then slowly put it away, "My pleasure." He said, and started walking down the street, "Please, walk this way." He said, and though they followed at his back, their eyes were everywhere else as they saw the construction, the expanded work, the signs of growth that would, as if they could see the future, surely one day turn Foundoton from a town, to a mighty city...it gave them much to contemplate, which they still had not finished thinking about, when they arrived at the inn a short while later.

**AN: OK so there we go that is chapter 2 of Unholy Rose, not action packed, but it doesn't really need to be, to be frank, while there will be some action in this story, this is more about how they are seeing a nation change, they'll learn about culture, traditions, rituals, trade, economics, and how a kingdom in flux that is seeing the spreading of a whole new religion, is responding to those changes. You'll see how these changes, change the characters you're watching this all happen through, and you'll hopefully find yourself intrigued by the way things are going. If I told a decent story, and built a world worth immersing yourself in, well great, if I didn't, well sorry you wasted your time. :) Either way, please leave a review, I love to glean your thoughts. **


	3. Outside Looking In

The inn was as clean, and seated behind the front desk was a young man, he had a thin red beard and red hair that ran down to his neck, meeting up with his tunic which was a deep black shade...a frequent favorite, Lakyus concluded, perhaps an identifier for fellow believers, but what stood out more was that he was thickly muscled even for someone who might have done farm work...which Blue Rose was uniformly thinking was unlikely given that he was working at an inn. It was a point of some curiosity, but not one Lakyus was prepared to broach just yet. She thanked the fellow who lead them to the inn and approached the desk.

"We need rooms for five." She said politely, and the young man looked up from what he was doing, Lakyus glanced down, and saw that he had been drawing, a fairly good representation of the town and the area surrounding it was taking shape on crude paper, and he set his drawing aside to speak to her. "You want to share space, or separate rooms?" He asked politely.

"Same is preferred but we'll take separate ones if we have to." She said in return.

"Fine." He said, went through a book listing occupancy, and then he shrugged and took out five keys. "Rooms are upstairs, right side, one after the other. Tavern opens at sunset. That'll be fifteen coppers each." He said, and Lakyus produced a gold coin. That got his attention.

She held the coin up to him at eye level, "Its yours and you can keep the change, but we're new to...everything here." She said, spreading her arms wide as if to encompass the entire town, and everything is strange to us. We're staying overnight and probably for the next day or two, if you'll guide us, and help us learn about...well everything that makes you all different, it would be greatly appreciated." Lakyus gave him a friendly and encouraging smile.

"I'm free all day tomorrow, which makes this your lucky day, as well as mine, call me Ataros," He said with a smile that was probably more filled with warmth for the coin than for them, but...whatever worked. Lakyus handed him the coin and he said, "Sunrise tomorrow there is a wedding, the mayor's daughter is getting married, the whole town is going to be celebrating. I'll knock on your doors when it is time to go." He said, and Lakyus handed him the coin. As she walked away she noticed that she could see the reflection of the desk in a decorative shield on the wall, she noticed that he made the proper change, and pocketed the difference. Lakyus nodded in approval, honest when nobody was watching...a good sign.

They were worn out from the stress of walking with a legendary undead, a body of skeletons, and peasants that didn't seem to know those things should be stressful...which was probably the most stressful thing out of all of that. They went silently to their rooms and crashed.

In the morning Lakyus was already awake when the knock on the door came, the young man who had been watching the desk was standing there dressed...slightly differently, his clothes were still relatively inexpensive peasant dress, however it was more like a deep blue shade, the color of midnight. "Ready to go?" He asked. The rest of her party was behind him, and Lakyus gave a friendly smile, "I am, surely you expected no less?" She asked.

"Not at all." He said in return, and he lead the way down the stairs, waving in passing to a muscular young woman who had taken his place from the previous day. She returned the wave as he walked out, and Blue Rose followed close behind.

"Now," he said as he walked towards the town center, "I realize you don't know any of the customs we've developed, so the simplest way for you to blend in, which I assume you want to do, is to just imitate what I do. I'll explain along the way what is happening, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them." Ataros said.

"Of course. Thank you, Lakyus said, "But I have to ask...is it possible we'll see anything we can't, as adventurers, bear to watch?"

He stopped cold and turned around. His friendly look was gone and replaced by a mix of confusion and anger. "You need to explain that." He said.

"You're followers of the undead, most necromancy practitioners think little of using lives of others in their rituals, torture, death, and numerous other things are done in their dark rites, you can't blame me for asking if I'll see something that the adventurer's guild would consider itself obligated to interfere with." She said reasonably.

Ataros rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, he left one hand on his hip, but then put his hand to his forehead and shook it impatiently. "You sound like a priestess of the old gods." He said in a voice that was frankly more tired than pissed off.

"Well, I AM a priestess of the god of water..." Lakyus began.

Ataros didn't wait for her to finish but instead said, "That explains that." His hand returned to his hips and he looked at her like a stern teacher who had caught a student acting out. "Its a good thing that...first off, you paid me for this because otherwise I'd request that you be escorted out of town, and second off, that nobody else over heard you because then they'd ask for the same thing, even if I had been paid. I guess because you're foreigners and new and only know what the temples of the old gods say, I can't really be to upset, so I'll let that insulting question go and answer you seriously."

He took a deep breath and then began speaking incredibly fast. "No we don't worship death and we don't hate other worshipers of other gods and we don't sacrifice infants in the night or torture children or waylay and slay travelers or turn people into monsters or bathe in blood or eat human flesh or steal souls to cast dark magic or rape virgins or torture animals or commit banditry or rob the graves of the dead, or any OTHER absurdity that rumors might have put into your ears." He finished his statement with yet another sigh.

"So lets put all that to bed right now. No, you will not see anything that makes your conscience demand your intervention, and it isn't because those things are hidden, it is because we do not do them. Yes we worship the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown, as the god of justice and prosperity, some also worship him as the god of community, others worship him as the god of strength and war, and still others as the god of peace, I've passed through villages where a merchant declared him the god of honest commerce, while another village priest who converted from the old gods declared him to be father of Surshana descended from heaven to finish his son's work. The Sorcerer King is worshiped in many facets, because he has revealed himself in many ways by his actions. Questions?" Ataros asked, and resumed walking.

Lakyus, and the rest of her team, had turned a little red.

"I'm sorry if I have given offense, I can only ask that my ignorance be forgiven as I strive to eliminate it." She said sincerely.

"Its OK, some worship the Sorcerer King as the god of knowledge and education. Perhaps you favor him in that way, or would if you came over to us." He said.

"How does someone decide what aspect of him that they favor?" Lakyus asked.

"They ask themselves what matters most to themselves, and they strive to imitate him at his best in that respect. Neia Baraja sees him as justice and it is in that way she promoted him first, to the mayor who saw how the Sorcerer King had united people in common cause, he is the god of community, so as Pope Neia dedicated herself to spreading his justice, our mayor has dedicated himself to the growth prosperity of our community. It falls to each of us to decide for ourselves." He said.

"And if a person wishes to change their view to some other aspect?" She asked further.

"Then they can." Ataros said with a shrug.

"Now, we're almost to the wedding, we do this at Sunrise to symbolize the new beginning that the rising Sun represents, it will begin peaking over the horizon soon. All you have to do is take a seat and say nothing, then do as I do." Ataros said.

They gave a common nod of understanding and found that most of the town had turned out, and more significantly, everybody was in some way armed. Short swords, spears, bows, knives, it looked more like a raiding party than a wedding.

The bride and groom were dressed in solid white clothing standing under a simple arch arrayed with flowers. Behind them stood an older couple that were most likely their parents, and arrayed a step behind them were...based on appearances at least, the rest of their family, siblings, cousins, and the like.

The crowd in front facing the couple was made up of most of the rest of the town. The young man lead them to a side street leading into the town square which wasn't as crowded and let them see the affair better. Lakyus however, felt confused, there was no priest present, so...who was marrying them? She held her tongue for the moment and looked into the distance, the sun was just barely starting to peek over the horizon, and nobody in the town made a sound except for a few squalling infants.

The Sun rose and crested the horizon, its light ate up the ground as it moved along, covering one row after another until it reached the feet of the young couple, who clasped hands, and when the light of the Sun had moved beyond them, they stepped out from under the arch. The parents of the bride and groom then said in unison, "Does anyone dispute their union?" And they drew their swords. This seemed to be the cue, and their extended families also drew their arms, those carrying spears brought their weapons into the guard position, the crowd in front remained silent, and row by row they turned to those behind them and drew out their own weapons, until every row had turned outwards. Their guide had done the same, and despite their confusion, Blue Rose showed the adaptability of adamantite ranked adventurers, and followed suit almost seamlessly.

The positions were held for almost half a minute, and then the parents sheathed their weapons, and as if that were the signal, so did all the rest. The groom then spoke loudly, "Then we are one, let none dispute it." He said.

"Unless they wish to shed blood." The bride said, completing the statement. They leaned in, and kissed one another, and cheers rang out.

The new couple mingled and from that point forward it looked like an ordinary wedding post wedding party. Lakyus however, was confused. "Where was the priest?" She asked.

Ataros gestured to the still rising Sun. "Right there." He grinned at their confusion. "Black Justice places less worth on oaths than on actions and choices, if a man does not want what he says he wants, then adding an oath doesn't change his lie to truth. They chose to unite their lives, they undertook the ceremony, what use are human oaths next to that?" He asked pragmatically. "They joined hands and began this day as one, the Sun sealed their bond before all, and that is all we need."

"And the weapons?" Evileye asked. "It looked more like a raiding party than any wedding I've ever been to." She said somewhat sardonically.

Aratos laughed. "That shows the family's willingness to back their union, all other guests turn away from the couple, not only trusting them at their backs, but also showing their willingness to fight for their dignity, their union, and their lives. This wedding is large because it is the mayor's son and the daughter of a merchant who chose to settle here, who has used his position to give us close ties to the capitol temple. It has yielded great benefit to the community, so the community felt it appropriate to attend."

"But...doesn't the local lord mind all this?" Gagaran said, gesturing to all the armed peasants. "Most nobles don't let their peasants carry weapons like this."

"I know the kind of people you're talking about, but this is a chartered town." Aratos said, "Purchased for us by the Sorcerer King, we don't have an official nobleman, the one who ruled here before the invasion is dead, and as I understand it, so are all his relatives, so we only answer directly to the crown unless rule is handed over to someone else, and we pay extra taxes as a chartered town, specifically on the condition that we are not given a noble to rule us."

That brought blank stares and blinking eyes. "No noble?" Lakyus asked.

"None." He said. "Eventually we'll probably choose one so that we can be directly represented to the crown, but nobility is expensive if it isn't won, and frankly nobody here has earned the honor yet." Aratos said simply.

"Now, do you ladies prefer drinking, dancing, or games?" Aratos said as music began to break out and the servers carried beer through the crowd. His smile was broad and friendly again, and it was impossible not to like the man. "If you want games, over there," he pointed beyond where the bridal family had stood, "you can test your strength, aim, or wit. We have some interesting games you've probably never seen before, they were brought to us from Pope Neia." As the crowd dispersed to various areas they saw what he meant, "There you have the bell, if you're any good with a hammer," Gagaran grinned widely, "You slam one down on a weight, and it launches a ball up to ring the bell at the top. Not far from that, something called ten pin bowling, you try to roll a stone with holes in it, down the middle, and knock over the pins standing in a triangle. And next to that," they saw a man acting out without saying a word, "something called 'charades' where you act like something and others try to guess it."

"Where did Neia come up with these?" Tia asked in beffudlement.

"She didn't. Apparently she visited the Sorcerer King, learned some of his arts while in his realm, and took away knowledge of some games as well." Aratos said.

"She WHAT?!" Evileye said in shock.

"I'm guessing that is...news to you?" Aratos said sardonically. "Yes, she went to the realm of the Sorcerer King, along with around a hundred of her best fighters, and there she and her people trained under the guidance of his guardians and other agents, we don't know everything she learned, but at the end of the month she was...well...a force to be reckoned with. Mentally and physically."

Lakyus turned to her team and, sensing her urgency, they leaned in to hear what she said in a hoarse whisper, "We HAVE to find Neia Baraja. Just as soon as our contract allows, and maybe before." She said. "Anyone disagree." There were no disagreements.

Lakyus turned back to Aratos and said, "Aratos if its alright, we'd like to explore the town a bit, is there anything else you'd like to show us today?"

Aratos rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, today is a holiday for the most part, but you can come to service with me tonight, the new teacher should be here by evening and he'll be staying at the inn where I work, tomorrow is a turning and a training day, so its up to you. Tell you what, I'll come by the inn this afternoon, and if you'd like to come to service with me, be my guest, and when the teacher arrives, I'll make sure you're introduced." Aratos said politely.

Lakyus gave a polite smile, "We'll take you up on all of that thank you." She said, and gave him a courteous bow, which he returned, and then they parted ways.

"It was a nice ceremony." Tina said as they walked through the crowd, watching ax throwing, bowling, and dancing. The dancing was what really caught Lakyus's eye, though they seemed to be simple practiced dance motions set to music, her experienced practice with a sword recognized the motion of weapons, even without the weapons. They had incorporated the arts of dancing and battle into something unique and...quite intriguing.

"What do you suppose he meant by 'turning'?" She asked her team. She was met with shrugs, "I don't know, I guess we could have asked, but we'll find out tomorrow." Gagaran replied. "I'd really like to try out that hammer game." She grinned again.

"Go ahead." Lakyus said with a small laugh, "You've earned a good time, just be back at the inn later, you don't have to come to their service, but if you're not going, just be waiting for us at the inn tonight." Gagaran's grin got wider.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" She said with an almost childish enthusiasm.

"Why don't the three of you go explore as well?" Lakyus said, "Go have some fun, we've all earned the break, and if this were some sort of trap, well they've earned our capture." She said with a laugh.

Tia and Tina barely suppressed smiles of their own, and with a quick uniform bow, they took off.

"Are you sure Lakyus?" Evileye said curiously.

"I am." Lakyus replied, "Its fine, this is just a lot to process and I'd probably do so better without company than with it right now."

Evileye gave a polite nod, and turned to go exploring the festivities.

Hours passed as Lakyus took in her surroundings, people were happy, smiling, and...as she increasingly noticed, uncommonly fit, even for farmers it was strange, they carried themselves with a confidence that commoners usually did not have, that people who had endured Jaldabaoth's invasion should not have had, they had held their weapons with practiced ease and comfort, and the ceremony had a martial air that was not usual for peasant farming communities. The lack of a priest was strange, but she had to admit that the notion of being married by the Sun was rather lovely in and of itself.

She hardly noticed that she'd wound her way back to the inn, and she definitely did not notice how much time had passed, and she got there just as Aratos was approaching the door. "Good timing." He said politely, "Our teacher has arrived, I was just coming ahead to get you."

Lakyus was just about to ask where the teacher was, when she saw over his shoulder, where around the corner, a lizardman with a large pack on his back. Aratos saw the change in her expression and he could not restrain his laughter.

"Not quite what you were expecting?" He asked quietly as the lizardman closed the distance.

"No...not really." Lakyus said.

"Well, welcome to Foundoton." He said humorously, and stepped out of the way, he gestured to Lakyus. "Ssaka, this is Lakyus, an Adamantite adventurer hired by the crown." He gestured to Ssaka. "Lakyus, this is Ssaka, a member of the lizardman tribe far to the North in the employ of the Sorcerer King."

Lakyus reached out and shook the lizardman's hand with a bit of trepidation, "Are you...from the Sorcerer King's home?" She asked curiously.

The lizardman shook his head, "No, I'm from a village beyond his home, he conquered our tribe several years ago, and now we serve him."

"Forgive me for asking but...how is his rule?" Lakyus asked.

"Not what we expected." Ssaka said. "He restored several of our finest warriors to life, saw to giving our finest members an education, sent a warrior of unparalleled power to defeat and subjugate our enemies, and gave us food to sustain us and technology that has continued to increase our harvests and our quality of living. We have known neither hunger, nor want, nor fear since his rule, and no man of ours has died in battle, nor have we been thrown away like trash. His rule has been...different...but beneficial." He said.

"I see." Lakyus said through pursed lips, wondering if perhaps Ssaka was required to say these things, but not asking, "I understand you're here to teach?" She asked.

"Yes, I will be teaching the children of the village to read and write, as well as those adults who wish to learn, and on training days I will be providing instruction on the specialized combat methods of Black Justice, I trained with Zaryusu Sasha and Neia Baraja for more than a year in Nazarick, almost two years, so I am very well versed in..."

He paused when he saw the change in Lakyus's expression. "I'm sorry," she asked, "did you say two years?"

"Something like that anyway." He answered.

"But..." she tried to work out the timeline when this could have happened. "When?" She asked, baffled.

"Early this year." He said.

Her confusion mounted. "How could you have trained for around two years...early this year?"

"The Sorcerer King froze time for us, every day for a month, we practiced in the frozen time, and learned a great deal through training and study, then he would unfreeze time, let us relax for awhile, and then we would resume training in frozen time. (*AN: See the story 'Training in Time')" Ssaka said casually.

Lakyus fell back against the inn, touching her forehead with her hand. "You're telling me...the Sorcerer King...stopped the flow of time itself...to give you practice time...and you spent almost two years there, while only a month passed for the world?"

Ssaka paused and thought for a moment..."Something like that. Well...I guess it sounds more outlandish when YOU say it, but we're used to the impossible from him at this point...still, yeah, that is what happened."

"Oh by the gods..." Lakyus said, unsure if she was praying or uttering blasphemy. "I...well...wow..." She tried to speak, but was at a loss for words.

"So, here I am." Ssaka said with open hands as his mouth fell open in a laugh.

Lakyus found herself short of thoughts and words and breath, all at the same moment, she felt the urge to get out of there and collect herself. "Thank you Ssaka, its a pleasure meeting you, I wish you all the best in your teaching efforts. I truly mean that." Lakyus managed to get out with sincerity in her voice and shook his hand again.

"When do we attend service?" Lakyus asked Aratos.

"After evening meal." He replied, go and relax, I'll come find you afterwards, the rest of your team can come as well if you like. I already spoke to the priest and let him know visitors would be coming." He said with a hospitable smile.

"Thank you, I think I'm going to have a drink and turn all this over in my head for awhile, but I'll be back down after I've eaten." She said to him, and after shaking hands, she ventured back up to her room, quietly, hoping the rest of her team did not know she had returned, this was not something she wanted to talk about until she had time to think about what she'd just heard.

She didn't actually end up eating. As a priestess of the water god, she knew all the stories of her god's deeds, she in fact knew all the stories of all the deeds of all the gods...but nothing they had done compared to the Katze Plains level slaughter, nothing suggested they were capable of fixing time in its place and holding it still, and the stories she'd heard about the magic battle between Ainz Ooal Gown and Jaldabaoth defied anything she'd ever heard of.

She began to see why he was worshiped.

When the appointed time came she descended the stairs, walked out, and found her team already waiting with Aratos. "Ready?" He asked. She gave a weak smile, "Lets go." She said.

If he noticed her lack of enthusiasm, he gave no sign of it, instead he walked in friendly silence as he lead her to the north eastern corner of town. He looked over his shoulder and said, "We build our place of worship in the direction you'd walk to go to the Sorcerer King's seat of power, the only exception to this is, from what I hear, Prart...where our priests have taken over the largest temple in the city, and in the capitol, where the first temple was built at the site of a battle after Remedios Custodio first tried to exterminate us. All others are built in the fashion we have built ours." He gestured to a small shrine placed outdoors. "We are a young town still, and so have not built a proper temple, but the Pope has said that the finest worship is through how we live, not where we pray that matters."

Blue Rose shared a questioning look, and Aratos stopped and looked back at them, "I'm going forward for services now, if you are comfortable joining me, you may do so, if not, no offense will be taken if you simply stand back and watch." He gave a kind smile and then walked over to where the crowd had gathered and took his place in a line, kneeling with others.

A priest arrived a short while later and began to speak. "In a far off land there lived a terrible two headed monster which no one could defeat, it was overwhelmingly powerful, hero after hero, drawn by want of fame and reward, sought it out to end it's life and stop its rampage of the many villages of the kingdom, and one by one the heroes fell before it, being turned into meals that fed its strength, until one day it approached a village where a clever young man lived, and as the village fled in terror, the boy approached the monster. This was unusual, the monster was accustomed to others fleeing in terror, it was accustomed to would be heroes attacking, it was not used to small humans approaching it unarmed, so the monster asked the young man, "Why do you approach me, are you eager to die?"

The young man shook his head, "No, I just...I wanted to ask you a few things, will you satisfy my curiosity before you kill me?"

At this the monster laughed, it was much amused, and it said to the boy, "Very well, ask, you will be a fine meal either way, I will let you carry my answers to your grave in my belly."

The boy thanked the monster politely and asked, "Why do you, head on the left, allow the head on the right to take so much of your food?" The monster was confused by this, and they tried to explain how each worked, but as the boy probed, he skewed their answers to make it seem to each head as if its mate was stealing from it or depriving it of its due share.

The priest suppressed a chuckle, "Soon the heads were at odds and had begun fighting and arguing, and the boy began to pretend to side with first one and then the other, until their rage at one another grew so fierce that they came to blows, with left and right arms and claws tearing at one another, until one head had killed the other, and the body bled so heavily that the remaining head died as well."

The priest stood silent for a moment, "Strength then is without value if it is not paired with wisdom and knowledge, though the monster knew it was strong, strong enough to kill anything, it did not know how much it needed its mate, it did not know the harm it could do itself, indeed it did not know itself at all, know your strengths, your needs, your weaknesses, or you are no different from the monster that destroyed itself. Will you destroy yourself as it destroyed itself?" He asked.

"No!" The worshipers said in unison. "The monster was divided against itself, so what chance did it have against one united in purpose who knew how to exploit its weakness?" The priest asked.

"None!" They answered as one.

"Weakness is the ultimate sin, it destroys individuals, communities, kingdoms, and kings, we as a people have suffered much because we were to weak, our nation was divided, South cared little for North cared little for South, without the demihuman threat to offer even a slight semblance of unity, we would have been even weaker. To tolerate our weakness is to sin, to sin so in this world is to die, it is to murder our own children, our parents, and ourselves, will we die as sinners?!" The priest asked fervently.

"No!" The crowd said.

The service went on for the better part of an hour, the priest would tell a story, then talk about the moral behind that story, it was all in all, engaging, as rare are the adventurers who do not like good stories. The service closed with a song sung by the worshipers and the priest turned to the alter, bowed his head and lead the prayer.

"As you have used your strength for us, we imitate you in using our strength for one another, for you have revealed your will that we give value to our lives and to our deaths and to our unlives, so we have followed, in service to one another, we serve you, and we vow each day anew that we will defend the weak, which is but common sense, that the weak may grow strong, and protect the strong if they grow weak. In your service, in our common service, we are one."

The priest raised his head and turned back to the worshipers, "Clasp hands as brothers and sisters in service, in life, in death, and in the unlife thereafter, and go in peace."

The worshipers shook hands, one to the left and to the right, to the front and to the back, and then walked away.

Aratos approached the fascinated members of Blue Rose and said, "Thank you for attending our service, and thank you for showing it the respect it is due. I hope you found it to be worth your time." He said with a warm politeness.

Lakyus looked to her teammates and then reached out and clasped Aratos's hand. She met his eyes with hers and said, "I think I can speak for my team in this when I say...yes, it was worth every moment. I have learned much."

**AN: Well that concludes the third installment. (Yay worldbuilding! I actually enjoy these more than combat and action...but if you're waiting for that, well it won't be far off) Just a quick side note though, I know you're probably wondering when I'll get back to Memory & a Message, God Rising, and The Queen in the Sword...depending on which you prefer. But take my word for it when I say two things:**

**1\. There is a reason I haven't released more for those just yet, this particular story is going to catch up well into the present and overlap with other events, and I'm trying to avoid spoilers in to great an abundance. Yes I'll be getting to those, but this story helps build the world more and is showing the divisions that have erupted between North and South, as well as the old religion and the new one. You'll appreciate the rest of it more with this story giving additional details. Plus...I'm kind of on a roll with this one and would like to finish it up. I should get at least one chapter per day done for the next week, give or take a one or two day intermission while I'm finishing with a new cycle of trainees.**

**2\. This isn't actually slowing down the other releases, I'm tweaking a few things on my outline for both God Rising and The Queen in the Sword, and I'm having to brush up on my knowledge of siege tactics in the ancient world and middle ages in order to get some of the writing to come out right. When I've got this story where I want it to be, expect rapid fire releases of additional chapters. Memory and Message will follow hot on the heels of those, with some profound world changing events taking place under Ainz Ooal Gown's direction in Carne, Arwinter, E-Rantel, & the Lizardman village. **

**Unrelated...but as a 3rd note, Ainz short 'vacation' story will be out soon as well, it'll be a standalone oneshot with maybe three chapters, probably only one, depending on how well it flows. That'll be 'The Lemurian Paradox'. I'm free this weekend, and if I weren't a little tired from having been up for the last 18 hours already, well I'd go ahead and do another Unholy Rose chapter and do that one's outline. But hey, the more reviews I get, the more I produce so...its at least partially in your hands how fast these things come out. :) **

**P.S. Hope you liked the cultural and religious details, I sure had fun with this one. Kudos to those who recognized the cultural, literary, and historical references I drew inspiration from. :) **


	4. Sisterhood & Sadness

"Tomorrow will be a turning day and a training day, if you want to observe, again you are welcome to. Simply be outside the inn tomorrow morning at sunrise. First will be the turning, then there will be the training." Aratos said with what was apparently his customary warm smile.

It was hard for the members of Blue Rose to not want to return it, and he shook each of their hands in turn before departing. After he was gone, Lakyus looked around as they also began to head back to their quarters. "Come to my room when we return to the inn." She said. She was met by silent nods of acknowledgement.

They walked without speaking, every one of them on pins and needles at what they'd heard, even with the charismatic young man's apparent decency, so they waved to the woman minding the counter, and walked up the stairs giving the appearance of weariness, though in fact their minds were very active. Lakyus opened the door to her room, walked in, held it open for her team, then closed it when Tia came in last.

"Thoughts?" She asked, cutting directly to the point.

"It is...different. But not without merits." Tia said.

"Yeah, I mean, they worship the undead, but they're not hurting anyone." Tina added.

But Lakyus was on a razor's edge, even now, behind a closed door in her room, and at a glance, Gagaran was equally on edge. She forced herself to breath evenly. "But what did they mean 'the unlife hereafter?' Lakyus asked.

The implication hit Tia and Tina quickly, as they hadn't taken note of it, but they looked at each other with grim expressions.

"He never did deny necromancy at all..." Evileye added with trepidation.

"And he mentioned something called, 'The Turning' several times." Lakyus added. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I think we'd best be prepared to intervene. We go out tomorrow as promised, but this may be the end of our contract, depending on what we see." She said to the team.

"It may be." Evileye said, "But for now lets withhold judgement, I'm not defending the Sorcerer King, but...we know that not all undead exist solely to prey on the living..."

"They need to be put down!" Lakyus snapped, surprised at her own sudden outburst. She lowered her voice by sheer force of will and continued, "Sure the skeletons and...by the gods, that Death Knight...are under control, but we know what they'd do if they weren't. Vampires, skeletons, death knights, liches...monsters like that always turn on the living if they get a chance. Protecting humanity requires putting them down."

"Maybe the Sorcerer King is...unusual in some ways, but anything that can unflinchingly end 200,000 lives is dangerous and we should be cautious of it. Even if its followers appear benign." Gagaran added.

Tia and Tina had expressions of agreement on their faces, and Evileye fell silent.

Evileye had lived behind a mask for so long that she'd forgotten it was there sometimes, but now in this moment, she was conscious of it in a way she had not been in centuries, and it was not only a mask, a fraction of an inch of carved and painted material, it was a wall, high as the sky and thick as a mountain, through which she could not see and the height of which she could not scale, forever separating her from her beloved sisters. She felt her eyes well up as that seemingly eternal barrier was thrown into her face by an off the cuff remark that Lakyus obviously had no idea could cut like a knife through flesh.

Evileye stood up, and said softly, "You're right of course, now...its been a long day, I'm going to take the air for a few minutes before going to bed."

Lakyus nodded, seemingly not noticing the hurt that Evileye concealed. "Good idea, but I'll feel better if we keep a watch tonight. Evileye can you take first watch?"

"Of course sister." Evileye said, barely keeping back her voice from placing special emphasis on the word, 'sister'. "I won't be long." She said, and walked out, missing the rest of the shift order, and not caring, she walked outside, missing the polite wave of the person minding the desk of the inn, and stepped in to the air.

Her heart had not beaten once in over two hundred years, but as it had quickened on witnessing the power and valor of Momon, so it now ached from the unintended pain inflicted by Lakyus's dismissal of the undead as merely predatory vessels of evil.

She knew Lakyus had not intended to hurt her...how could she have, after all none of them knew they'd been fighting beside a vampire, that they called a vampire 'sister', that they would sleep while a vampire watched over them, safe having placed trust in the sort of being they usually killed without losing so much as a night's sleep over the act.

She walked alone in the moonlight, a few torches hung from sconces outside of various buildings, and these provided additional guidance to the humans out in the evening, but with her darkvision, they meant nothing to Evileye. How many times had she contemplated telling her team what she was, only to back out at the last minute, changing her mind as she imagined losing them, or worse, having to fight them...she shook her head at the last thought...she could never fight her roses. She swallowed hard, if they ever learned what she was, if they ever drew weapons to cut her down, she resolved to let it all end, she'd lived long enough, lost enough. She tried to imagine Lakyus drawing out that sword, and the feel of it cutting through her mask and ending her life.

When she'd heard Lakyus speak just a short while ago, it reminded her of how very real a possibility it seemed. Would the team feel differently if she revealed her nature? She felt the question dig at her like a spear twisting in the gut.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even see Aratos until she'd already walked into him and knocked him to the ground. She was surprised for a moment as he lay sprawled out there, and she quickly apologized and moved to help him up.

"I'm terribly sorry." She said as she held out her hand, which he clasped in acceptance and grunted as she pulled him easily to his feet. "I'm afraid I was so lost in thought that I didn't pay attention to where I was going."

He chuckled, "No harm done." He said has he dusted himself off. "So what's the problem?" He asked with a smile. "Maybe I can help."

"Problem?" Evileye asked, and he looked at her with a little half grin.

"People don't get lost in thought wandering about in the middle of the night because they're happy. Something is bothering you, want to talk about it?" He asked.

"I suppose it can't hurt." She said.

"Alright then." He replied, and gestured for them to start walking.

"So, whats up?" He asked.

"Have you ever kept a secret?" She asked him.

"Sure. Who hasn't?" He answered.

"I mean one that could change how those who you loved, saw you?" She asked. "Something that, if they learned it, could cost you everything?" She elaborated.

"Yes." He said, "Once."

"Can I ask...?" She began.

"You already know it." He answered.

"What?" She asked in confusion.

"I'm a follower of Black Justice. My mother was a priest and my father was a paladin. I left their faith and joined this one early on." His voice grew distant in the way voices tend to do when the distance of a lifetime, either real or felt, was discussed.

"When Jaldabaoth invaded, I was captured, I prayed to the gods for relief, but the only relief I got was that the demons guarding us kept choosing people other than myself for their amusement. When I was rescued, it was because of the Sorcerer King and Neia Baraja. What good were gods that didn't do anything? Or whose only way to answer prayers was to sacrifice others instead?" He looked at her without the happy smile that normally characterized his face, instead his voice was choked up and tears trickled down, "Those other prisoners were my friends, they prayed for the same rescue I did, but I'm here and they ended up as mutilated wrecks or meals for demons or demihuman invaders. If the gods were answering my prayers, but sacrificing others who prayed the same as I did, what was the point of praying to them at all? I saw no reason to think they cared at all what happened to us." He said, speaking softly, but gradually getting the words out.

"When the Sorcerer King set us free, and not long after, Neia declared him a god of justice, I threw away my old faith to follow a god that actually cared to help us. My parents and I were reunited a few months after that, and despite the fact that he'd saved me, their own son, they disparaged him at every turn, even while they used him, relied on his power, they spoke against him to the people and to their colleagues, and for weeks I was silent, bearing up under their constant verbal assault on my savior, the savior of my nation. They didn't know how it stung me, until they did." He shrugged, "One day I lost my temper and revealed I had joined the followers of Neia Baraja, before we'd been given our current name of 'Black Justice'."

"What happened?" Evileye asked.

"Well they kicked me out, I became a pariah to people I'd grown up with...well...the ones who were still alive anyway, except for a few who had come to the same side I had, all of us lost our family, our friends, even our spouses in some cases." He replied sorrowfully.

"Have you made amends?" Evileye asked softly.

"You can't make things right with the dead." He replied with a shake of his head, "They died not long after during the fighting, my father fell in the last battle against Jaldabaoth, my mother in retaking some small village out in the hinterlands."

"I'm sorry..." Evileye said as he wiped his eyes, "Its OK, I've come to terms with it."

"Are you...glad you told them the truth?" She asked.

To her surprise, he gave a firm and decisive nod. "I am. I wish it had been done differently, but carrying that secret to save the relationship, tainted the relationship itself. It meant always having to keep some part of myself away from them that I couldn't share, and that had become a big part of who I am. Yes they ended up rejecting me because of it, but it was like removing a spear from the gut, sure while its in there it holds back the bleeding, but to heal the wound it made, it has to come out sooner or later. When it all came out, I was now open, able to speak my mind and not dance around the truth, not having to constantly watch what I said or what I did, it was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I wish that I still had them, that we could still talk, that they could have had me in their life until the end...but I can't change because other people don't want me to be as I am. Black Justice, Foundoton, this is my home now, here is my family, and I've built my own life, and its one to be proud of, and I'm not having to pretend anymore, and never will again." He said, and though his voice carried bitter sweetness in its town, it sailed in a sea of sincerity and truthfulness.

"Thankyou." Evileye said. "You've given me a lot to think about, and you've helped me far more than you could ever know." She said, and she gave him not just a handshake, but a hug. "I'd better get back now, there is a long night ahead."

"Me too." He said with a blush tinting his face and contrasting to his red beard.

Evileye quickly returned to the inn, and went to each room in turn, letting them know one by one that she was back and ready to begin the watch out in the hallway. When she entered Lakyus's room, she found the woman was just getting ready to lie down.

"Goodnight Evileye. Wake Gagaran next when your shift is up" Lakyus said with a smile.

"Goodnight sister. I'll do that." Evileye said, "I'll get the light for you."

"Thankyou." Lakyus replied, as Evileye approached the candle, and gently slapped down on the top of it with her hand, extinguishing it and flooding the room with darkness. The darkest night was no obstacle for Evileye's vision, and she could see that Lakyus, exhausted from being on pins and needles, had closed her eyes and begun to slumber.

With only the most minor thought, Evileye could see every vein pumping blood through her sister's body, it was so easy, despite not having fed for centuries, she still knew how. She saw the changing in breathing when it had hit her sister, that told the experienced vampire girl that Lakyus was deep asleep, trusting a vampire with her life.

Evileye pushed back her hood and removed her mask, and for the first time in their long years of association, she looked at Lakyus's lovely face with nothing in between them, Evileye's blood red eyes were wide as she looked down at her sleeping sister, and she whispered softly...

"Someday...someday I promise, I will tell you the truth, even if it costs me everything." She said, as the soft words passed her fangs and lips and entered the world, fading to nothing with no one awake to hear them.

Evileye donned her mask again, put her hood back up, and then the vampire went out into the hallway to protect her human sisters.

**AN: Well this was a more introspective chapter than I'd first intended it to be, and yes it is short, but that's OK because there is another one right behind it. :) I hope you enjoyed this one, not many stories that I've seen take an introspective approach and have the characters deal with more...ordinary problems, in such an extraordinary setting. Gotta tell you, I put more into this chapter than I intended to when I first began it, some of it, despite the extraordinary nature of the problem Evileye faces, is not unreflective of very real struggles in people's inner lives here in the real world, and I hope I captured that effectively. If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review telling me your thoughts, and THEN move on to the next one. :) **


	5. A Different Flesh

The next morning Tia woke everybody up one by one, having finished the last shift of an uneventful watch, and after preparing for the day, they went downstairs and found Aratos already outside waiting for them.

"Do you ever sleep?" Gagaran asked with a grin.

"Do vampire's need sleep?" He asked, giving them a sudden shock that prompted them to reach for their weapons.

He raised his hands with a laugh, "I kid, I kid, don't worry, I'm a human, its just a joke. Yes I sleep, I just don't sleep very much."

The weapons went away slowly as they didn't much care for the joke, and he said, "Come along, the priest is running late today so I'll start off by showing you the training."

He began to walk towards the town gate when Lakyus fell into step beside him and said casually, "You've mentioned 'the training' as well as 'the turning' and we heard the priest the other day mentioned 'the unlife to come' but can you explain more?" She asked. "I have to admit its unsettling for adventurers to be in the dark about so much still."

"Well you'll get to see what we're talking about soon, but to start with, 'the training' is learning the combat style of our faith. It was developed by Neia Baraja at first, but then refined during her time in the realm of the Sorcerer King." He said.

That set them all to some measure of noticable wariness. "Don't worry," he said, "Outsiders who do no harm, will not be harmed. It is the will of the god of justice that only the unjust come to harm, and the peaceful be welcomed in peace, as the social contract states."

That term again...social contract. "We had questions about that too...Commonton people mentioned the 'social contract' to us as well. But we didn't get many details before we moved on." Gagaran asked.

"Well...to finish answering your first question first...the combat style relies on mixing bow use and a one handed sword method, the free hand is used for grips, holds, throws, taking opponent's weapons, and even arrow snatching...but that last one is only the most advanced users." He said.

"To answer your second question, the social contract is a teaching of the Sorcerer King. He has said that all who are part of a society, whether one they are born to or one they chose, have agreed to live according to the needs of society, which require peaceful coexistence. I must not harm my neighbor, nor my neighbor me. I must treat with others honestly as they treat honestly with me. I must contribute to the support of our society, just as my society provides me with security and prosperity in return. What is done, must be returned, and in so doing, we are all the better, safer, and stronger for it." He replied.

"What about those who don't want to be part of it?" Gagaran asked skeptically.

"How do you mean?" Aratos asked.

"Well, for example criminals, or slaves?" She elaborated.

"Well criminals are punished, they can either be part of society honestly, or they are removed from it. And we don't have slaves. The Sorcerer King hates slavery, and he has expressly forbidden anyone in his kingdom, or his followers beyond the borders of his nation, from ever owning another intelligent being." He paused, and they could see he was remembering something, "Who seeks to own his brother or sister, father or mother, or their neighbor, be they next door or as distant as the end of creation, is unworthy of me. You shall not own other peoples as property."

The five women blinked. "The undead said THAT?!" Lakyus said in utter disbelief. Gagaran's jaw dropped. Tia and Tina looked at one another in surprise, their usually neutral expressions now matched in the same way with another feeling, and though her mask kept her face hidden, Evileye felt herself being more than a little impressed.

"Please do not dismiss him as a simple undead." Aratos said patiently. "It should be clear by now, that he is far more than that."

"I'm sorry." Lakyus said sincerely and bowed her head briefly, "Its just...that sounds uncommonly noble, something we're not used to out of the undead."

He looked at her simply and said, "What do your gods say about this subject. Are they OK with ownership over others?"

Evileye heard the question, and she knew full well that he was not asking out of ignorance, having had a priest for a mother, there was no way he didn't know, the old gods had never forbade the practice, not for humans or for demihumans.

Lakyus lowered here eyes and didn't answer.

"So...if the undead are evil, all of them, why does this one show more care for the state of living beings than the six gods or the four?" He asked.

Lakyus didn't have a good answer to that, and he probed further, "More than that, the gods only seem to care for humans, except on occasion for Surshana, but the Sorcerer King looks at all the same way. You visited Commonton. You saw that they had children, laughter, happiness, just like we do, did you not?" He asked.

Lakyus remembered the snakewoman with many heads who talked about her children and how happy she was that they were safe and no longer being eaten. She might have been a human woman had Lakyus been blind and had only words to go by.

"I did." Lakyus said.

"If I grant that it is suitable that I live peacefully and free from harm because I am able to think, feel, hope, dream, love, lose, and have all the features of humanity...how can it be justice to deny that same privilege to other beings simply because they are of a different flesh?" He asked.

Lakyus did not have an answer, none of them did.

"Here we are." He said, and they noticed that they'd been so deep in conversation that they didn't see that he'd taken them all the way out the gate and to the western wall of the town. There, hundreds of people were engaged in drills against one another. Some of them were in teams of four or five, others were practicing alone against wooden men, others trained against each other as individuals, still others were practicing with bows, and among them all walked others with white sashes who periodically stopped and critiqued someone. It fell into place for them in an instant.

Why the peasants they'd seen, man and woman alike, had seemed not only uncommonly physically strong, but martially inclined and especially proud, with none of the downcast and desperate look so common in the villages and cities of Re-Estize. "You've been built up." Lakyus said.

He looked at her curiously. "What was that?" Aratos asked her.

"Its been bothering me since I got here, the weapons everybody had, the unusual degree of pride, the obvious physical health of your people...every member of Black Justice undergoes military training, don't they?" She asked.

"Every single week." He said with a note of pride.

"But...wasn't that always the case in the Holy Kingdom?" Evileye asked.

"Yes, but those were annual cycles, we train every single week, we have one full day dedicated to it, and one day off after that, and one full week of whatever other work we do. A few gain exemptions for specific tasks, such as the person tending the inn right now, they'll train on the off day and then have the day after that off, this way we overlap and cover each other. The very best among us are highly honored, and Black Justice villages and towns organize overlapping militia groups that cooperate to secure their regions. That is a more recent development though, and so far its only the towns and villages that are expressly dominated by our beliefs. We're not as strong as paladins, but we're better than the old national service system." He said with a considerable amount of pride in his voice.

"Come, walk with me." He said, and he moved down into the training area, and Lakyus looked on with an impressed expression as a peasant twisted a wrist and slammed someone else face first into the dirt and seized the blunted wooden dagger from his partner's hand, then stuck it's side to the back of his neck. "Again." The one on the bottom said in a confident voice that one didn't usually find from those who had the taste of dirt on their tongues.

"Neat trick." She said. "You can win a lot of fights in a hurry if you can take weapons away.

Aratos grinned back at her wolfishly, "That's the point. We can't count on being stronger than whoever we have to fight, but we can be clever, we can be cunning, we can out maneuver, out think, and take others by surprise. You're an adamantite level adventurer, the pinnacle of humanity, but if there is a quarter inch of steel in your neck, are you going to live?" He asked.

"No...short of immediate use of potion or magic, I will die in short order." She said.

"Same as anyone else for the most part," he said, "even the strongest can be taken down by something they've never encountered before, and since we can't be ready for everything, we try to be ready for anything, we mix our combat method from ranged to close armed to close unarmed. We're not as good as the elites that follow Pope Neia, but..." He laughed, "I wouldn't want to be a group of ordinary bandits thinking we're a tempting target."

As they watched the martial spirit exhibited by the training grounds, Blue Rose was united in their agreement that he had a good point.

After some time walking around and watching the unusual maneuvers, and quietly memorizing a few to practice among themselves for later application, they grew more and more eager to find a chance to speak with Neia Baraja. At last they'd seen everything the training field offered, and he lead them around the wall to another side of the town.

There a group of people had gathered, they bore looks of sadness, the sort of sadness the veteran adventurers recognized as mourning. There were three middle aged people and several teenagers, and Lakyus quickly guessed they were at a funeral for their parents.

"Wait here." He said, and Aratos went to speak with the family, after a few moments, he returned. "They've given permission for you to watch, but you must remain silent and at a distance, this is an important moment for them, their father and mother passed away on the same night, and now they're going to be read the Cyclic Writ, as soon as the priest arrives with their bodies."

Aratos's voice had become soft, even though they probably wouldn't be heard from where they stood.

Lakyus leaned over and whispered in turn, "What is the Cyclic Writ?" She asked.

"The Cyclic Writ is a part of the last will and testament, we use wills just like you do, giving what we had in life to those we leave behind, but the Cyclic Writ deals with the disposition of the body. See, our priests have items that allow them to raise the dead..."

"Wait...they can resurrect people?!" Lakyus's voice expressed shock, because she ws the only one in Re-Estize who could do that, if ordinary village priests could do that as well...

"No." Aratos said, shaking his head. "When a person dies they decide whether or not their body should be laid to rest, or if they should be 'turned' into a skeleton or other undead and if so, for whom. If they chose to be raised as some form of undead for their family, then in unlife they will continue to help their family with whatever they need. Be it protecting them, or farming, or mining, and so on." He said casually.

The entire team tensed, had Lakyus given the order, she felt quite sure they'd have attacked the funeral. The bodies were brought out, and the priest read the Cyclic Writ, and passed a wand over the bodies. The flesh vanished, and two skeletons got up.

Lakyus was frozen where she stood, a mix of horror, fascination, and awe came over her, as Aratos started to speak again.

**AN: Well I hope you enjoyed this part as well. Yes I wrote these last two chapters at the same time, I simply chose an appropriate break for each of them and I think it works. :) Shorter chapters are easier to edit when someone points out a mistake, and its easier to control the pacing and flow by breaking up the narrative into distinctly different parts. This particular arc is not going to be all that long, but I know you're eager to see how Blue Rose reacts to what they've just seen, which is of course...why I chose to end it there. If I did a decent job of it, well...you're probably a little bit pissed off at my cutoff point. :) But...you'll live, and I promise it won't be long. I might do another two chapters today in addition to this just because it is my day off and I made the mistake of coming out to Fort Bliss without my car...so...not much to go and do. If you liked the chapter, of course please review it, and if you didn't, well maybe I'll do better next time. **


	6. Daydreams & Departure

When the skeletons stood up, four of the members of Blue Rose tensed, they gripped their weapons so tight their fingers hurt but they could not make themselves slacken their grip even as their agonized nerves screamed at them to relax the force of their hold.

One member was fascinated, because when the skeletons stood up, even though they betrayed no hint of recognition, what happened next was enthralling. The family knelt to the bones of their parents. "Thank you mother, thank you father, for bestowing us with life while you lived, and gifting to us your unlives as you pass. As you cared for us in our youth, we cared for you in your age, and now you care for us in your agelessness."

The priest read off the terms of the Cyclic Writ, "Subjects Patina and Barle have bequeathed their unlife to your line on the condition that their bodies remain together until their grandchildren have children or all those who knew them in life have passed, after which their are to bequeathed to the temple's service for five years under like condition, to pay for the cost of their final internment."

He rolled the paper up and placed a seal over it, and handed it to the eldest member of the family. "Treat them in unlife, as they treated you in life." The priest said.

The family said in unison, "As the god of justice gives his grace to the living, so we give grace to the unliving, for as they are, we will be, and as we are, they once were, thus is the cycle satisfied."

They stood, and began to walk away, calling the skeletons to follow after them.

Lakyus grimly contemplated that if she hadn't encountered the undead being used before, she certainly would have lost her mind and attacked the necromantic ritual without thinking about anything but putting it down. "Boss...what do we do?" Gagaran said at a whisper...do we...do anything at all?" Her eyes were wide as saucers, and Lakyus was at a loss for words.

She finally uttered a hushed, "I...don't know. I honestly don't know..." She whispered in return. Tia and Tina were twitching with kunai in hand, their legs tense to leap, and then Evileye spoke up.

"Wait...don't...do...anything." They glanced down at their shorty in surprise, it had been a whisper, but it carried the force of a war drum. "We can talk about this later." She said, and then Aratos came back over to where they were standing. If he saw the flurry of emotions that they held in check, he gave no indication of it whatsoever, he simply wore his nearly permanent smile and stood in between five adamantite adventurers, a necromantic priest with a wand that raised skeletons, and a family of people taking the skeletons away, and he thought nothing of it.

"So, questions?" He asked.

"Are the terms I heard him read...normal?" Evileye asked.

"More or less." He said, some bequeth their service to the temple, others to a family member or dear friend, some apply a limit of a few years, theirs was several generations worth, but I understand that was a very close family, which probably accounts for the duration for it."

"What were they like? Did you know them?" Evileye asked.

"I wouldn't say I knew them well." Aratos replied, "I know their children best, but the father, Berle loved to cook, and he was very good at it, he did this thing with the face meat of a cow, put it into a stew with a number of herbs...no idea what his recipe was, but I guess he'll be able to prepare it for a few more generations yet, and they'll learn by watching his skeleton. His wife had been a seamstress, and a good one at that, she fixed a few sets of clothing for me over the last few years. But I didn't know them until they came here."

"Is it normal for the family to...behave that way?" Evileye asked again.

"Of course." Aratos said, "The living give life to the living, we care for the aged, and then the unliving help the living again, in this way we have a cycle of care for one another, a much loved family member does not leave their dear ones bereft of care in critical times, a farm needn't fail for want of labor, a house need not fall into disrepair because the remaining family lacks the strength to repair it, and so on. We all look after one another, even after we die."

Behind her mask, Evileye was deeply moved, but she could tell her sisters were still filled with anxiety.

"I've never seen a ritual for necromancy like that." Evileye continued, "I've only seen death, suffering, terror, and torture at work, what makes this different?"

"We use materials provided by the Sorcerer King, I do not know how he does it, but his wands, the ones distributed to us through the temples, are imbued with this ability." Aratos replied casually.

"And is anyone ever forced to do this?" Evileye asked sharply.

"Those sentenced to death for murder, rape, treason, or some other form of systemic abusive of a living body are subject to this. But no others." He said firmly.

"What if the couple hadn't wanted to be revived as skeletons?" Evileye asked.

"Then they wouldn't be They would be buried with full honors and mourned properly. When the last wish of their bodies has been fulfilled, then their skeletons will be interred in the family plot the same way as if they had never wished to be skeletons at all. We have VERY strict rules about this, to attempt impose this on a person against their will is a high crime in Black Justice. Though some people near death have sold their bodies after death in exchange for coin either for themselves in the present or for their heirs after death, for specific periods of time. For example a year's service after death is paid for by the temple with five gold coins to the living contractor who wants his money now, or in incriments to his heirs if he requests payment after death, and they get a portion of the revenue from their service. This way those who are poor need not leave only a legacy of poverty." Aratos spoke proudly of the way his institution worked, and Evileye could not help but ask more.

"So...how does anyone know that they're being paid what they should?" She asked him.

"The temples cross audit one another, and all the record books are open to all congregation members to review at any time, if anyone is suspicious of fraud, then an agent of the Sorcerer King investigates, there haven't been any guilty so far, but its been said that if anyone were ever found guilty then the person would have their status in the temple permanently revoked and would be subjected to temple justice if the kingdom's justice refused to punish them." Aratos said, his voice darkening a bit as he imagined a corrupt priest skimming from the profits.

Evileye felt the change in tension as the rest of her team focused on her and her questions, and she pushed it further.

"So you said Ainz...sorry...the Sorcerer King...has a death penalty for rape?" She asked.

"Yes." Aratos said. "He seems to have a special loathing for certain crimes. Rape and slavery are two of...well...not to sound like I'm trivializing them, but they're two of the crimes that especially seem to get under his skin. They're both very common things, but he absolutely hates them, and I've heard he had several guards in E-Rantel hanged after he took over the city because he learned that they had raped several peasant women. Supposedly he said that to have them serve him was to taint his Kingdom, so he had them hanged, turned into skeletons, and given to the victims to have as servants for life. That's just one of the stories I've heard though, you know how these things spread, I have no idea if it is true." He said, his voice betraying some of the curiosity about whether or not it might have been.

"A death penalty for rape. What a...novel idea." Evileye said whimsically. It was more than a little disturbing to the rest of Blue Rose, because of the stark contrast between the comfort with necromancy and its blending with the justice system, inheritance, family, and community. Moreover as women, who knew all to well what happened to women without the power they had for themselves, it was easy to find the idea of hanging such people appealing.

"So, you've now seen most of what Foundoton has to offer, and, well, you've gotten a bit of a rushed course in our beliefs as followers of Black Justice. What else can I do for you?" He Aratos asked them with open inviting arms.

"Nothing comes to mind, but you've earned your gold that much is sure." Lakyus said, "Our task here is to look for any indication of threat, and then move outwards from this location, the pattern established is one day's ride in all directions. If no threat is evident, we communicate with other teams and then move on to the next town, in this case we'll be going South from here to the next town, and then repeat. So we won't be here for very long if nothing is wrong." She said with cold politeness.

"As you wish, you can acquire horses at the stable on the other side of town, east from the entrance. Let me know if you need anything more." He replied, and began to walk away.

"Our quarters. Now." Lakyus said, and Blue Rose went back to their rooms at the in, and as soon as the door was closed and locked Lakyus turned to Evileye.

"OK, explain." Lakyus said, surprising the others.

"What?" Evileye said in surprise.

"You were as nonplussed as if they'd served sandwiches when you saw that ritual. That was necromancy plain and simple." Lakyus said.

"It was." Evileye said. "However I got your attention and stopped you because, necromancy or not, it wasn't evil. Nobody was harmed, nobody was threatened. We were guests, they invited us to see what we saw, did you really think it a good idea for a team of Adamantite adventurers to draw weapons and start killing people that we're contracted to protect, just because some aspect of their religion falls outside the norm?!" Evileye snapped sharply at Lakyus, with such force and venom that it made Lakyus draw back in surprise.

It caught the rest of the team offguard, and Gagaran chimed in. "I hate to admit it...but shorty is right. I've seen stranger rituals, and the way they behaved, these weren't exploiters, these weren't slavers or black dust dealers, this was a family accepting their parents last wishes to help take care of them all. How can I object to that? I mean...yeah...I felt the same impulse you did at first, but we all saw the same thing, and we've seen that the undead can be safely controlled. We almost had to fight one because a human thought he needed protection from US. What does that tell you?" She asked firmly.

Lakyus forced herself to relax. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I overreacted." She looked over at Evileye. "Sorry I snapped at you just then." She said apologetically.

"Same." Evileye replied.

"The real question is...do we continue with this contract?" Tia said.

"Or do we not?" Tina added.

"I say we keep at it," Evileye began, "I want to speak with Neia, and I want to find out the truth about what Remedios is doing. Keeping this contract lets us do that, even if it takes a little longer, it also gives us access to other resources from other adventurers and royal contacts that may help speed it up too."

"I can't argue with that." Lakyus said, "I think that is our best chance to get a look at the direction this kingdom is really heading, because as the Holy Kingdom goes...I think the rest of the world we know will go as well."

"Agreed." Gagaran, Tia, & Tina added.

"Then Tia, Tina, go get us some horses, we're going to start today." Lakyus said, and the twins quickly went out to carry out their task.

The next two days were quiet ones, they rode outwards from the town, searched for any indication of populated habitation within that distance of the town, but they found no campsite, no indications of foraging, no garbage or buried latrine pits, no disturbed earth, nothing to indicate a threat to Foundoton. They rode out in pairs for the most part, but Evileye offered to ride out on her own, since she could escape even more easily than the twins, this made sense, and she found that, much as she loved her sisters in Blue Rose, she needed time to process what she'd seen. Granted she had only seen skeletons and death knights...but she'd also seen demihumans, not just of a single species, but of many, come together and work in a single united town without the threat of violence to compel them. She'd seen that the living could cohabitate with the undead on a large scale...and she'd been reminded that her dearest family, her only family, reviled what she was.

Even if they didn't know her secret, it was a painful blow. She thought of her conversation with Aratos and leaving his family's beliefs before losing them, the cost he had to bear...she got down off her horse as she went to inspect a clearing in the woods, the ground crunched underneath her, it was beautiful here, the grass was like a carpet and the trees swayed in the bushes, she bent and inspected a piece of a branch, it was nothing, she snapped it, and realizing she had ample time before she had to head back. She chose to go and lay in the center of the clearing, with no matting of the grass, it was obvious nobody had stayed here for a very long time if ever. She folded her hands over her body and looked up at the sky, clouds floated overhead and only the rustling from the wind and the occasional chirp of a bird disturbed the calm.

She took off her mask, and found it to feel good to remove it. She was now looking up at the sky with blood red eyes that she had never shown to those she loved best, and she tried to imagine a world where she could be accepted for who she was, not for who she presented herself as, but whole, complete, where her loved ones would love her anyway, neither in spite of, or because of, what she was, but just because she was herself...because they'd lived together, traveled together, slept together fought together eaten together and trusted one another's lives through thick and thin.

Evileye had tried to imagine that world before, many times in fact, but until she saw Commonton and Foundoton, it had always seemed an impossible dream, even here, she doubted, but...but...here lay the seed of a world that might yet grow out of this one, if only it were nurtured. She bit her lip at the thought, her fangs penetrating the skin enough to draw blood, but she paid it no mind.

She lost herself in the fantasy of the acceptance by her family for a few hours, then got up and returned to her mount, and rode it back to the town. With no one having anything to report, they took their meal in relative quiet, Lakyus found that she had a special fondness for not leaving her room while she was in Foundoton, but Evileye and Gagaran both took to learning more about the place and its people. It was very strange still to see skeletons used as couriers of goods and diggers and farmers and many other things, but it was beyond question that this was very effective.

That night when they returned, Lakyus announced their departure.

"This place is secure, I'm dispatching a report and advising that we're moving South, with a two day expected arrival time, unless there are any objections?" None followed, and within a short while they had packed their gear and walked out of the inn. To their surprise, Aratos had chosen to meet them, and he walked them to the gate.

"Thank you for coming." He said in an appreciative voice, "I must admit, it was...interesting, but also pleasant, to act as your guide while here, and I hope you've learned something about us during your brief stay."

Lakyus smiled pleasantly, "We did...I can't say that everything I saw was...easy for me to come to grips with. But...you're decent people, and defending decent people is what Blue Rose does. Thank you for your help." She said, and reached down from her horse and shook his hand as they got to the gate, he waved goodbye as they walked out, and the rest of the team waved in turn before facing in front of themselves again, and left Foundoton, wondering what the place would be like in another twenty years.

The process repeated itself through several locations as Blue Rose kept communication up with the capitol. A consistent report was that while they moved further and further South, and things began to change more and more for the worse. As they went, they sought more information, and came into contact with Gilcrest and Robel through intermediaries.

When they began to recieve information directly from Black Justice headquarters in the capitol, the information flow became much more clear, they were given knowledge of Black Justice census data showing where their populations were most concentrated, and where attacks had been recorded, and eventually they were given a report that one of the hired mythril rank teams had disappeared, and it was only a few days travel from where Blue Rose was currently located.

When Lakyus read that report, she informed her team and without even a discussion, the practiced hands of the five adventurers turned their horses in that direction and began to ride.

AN: Yes, I know, its a bit short, but hey, enjoy. :) I'll have another one up soon, this just seemed like a good point to end this story before the next chapter kicked off. If you liked the character development in this one, let me know, if you hated it, let me know, and so on.


	7. Holy & Unholy

Lakyus checked her map of the Holy Kingdom, she'd marked the teams progress on a daily basis, and they'd seen areas with majority or a totality of Black Justice followers, and she'd taken reports from other groups filed through the temple in the capitol, and as she placed dashes over the estimated area with a supermajority of Black Justice members, it was a very large percentage of the Northern Kingdom, roughly 35% as near as she could tell, as far North West as Prart, all the way to the Capitol, and straight to the border with the Abelion Hills, and then south for a fair bit...all was heavily converted. The various towns she'd visited along the way all had Necromantic magic employed in turning undead, but...though it was against her will, she had to acknowledge they were using it with good intentions.

She felt a presence over her left shoulder, and then a small hand was placed there, touching gingerly, it had to be Evileye. She didn't even need to look.

"Are you alright, sister?" Evileye said softly, "You seem troubled to me."

"I'm fine, its just...I've been going over the map, this new religion is growing rapidly, I'm a priestess of the water god, its not easy to see people turn away from what I hold dearest, even less so when they practice something like necromancy, and create vile undead...even if they do it for...good purposes." She said.

She didn't see the way Evileye's head snapped back as if she'd been slapped, but she felt Evileye's hand move off of her shoulder and the woman start to retreat. "It'll be fine Lakyus, you worry to much." She cracked a phony smile that Lakyus couldn't see, and returned to tend to her horse.

Lakyus returned to her map without a second thought, but now focused on tracking their progress to the next location, it had to be near now, only hours away, if that much.

With her course confirmed, she remounted her horse with the rest of her team and they got under way. Eventually they came to their destination, a...well it was supposed to be the town of Kedyn, but it was in fact very clearly now a small city, the guards on the walls wore mismatched materials, some of them clearly wore military equipment in the style of Black Justice, with swords and bows, however they also carried shields bearing the same emblem as was pictured on the closed gate. Other guards wore simple boiled leather equipment and held spears. What was most noteworthy was that no two of different dress were with one another, the ones evidently part of the city officially all stood on one area of the wall, while those apparently volunteers or borrowed members from Black Justice, took another...she could not help but notice that they were conspicuously far away from the front.

Lakyus narrowed her eyes in suspicion as they approached the low stone walls, as she got close, she saw that they were roughly eighteen feet high, secure...but not imposing, made of simple overlapped stone. The gate was wood, but very thick based on how slow it opened. There was no moat and the towers were few in number. The tactician in her started thinking about the ways she could infiltrate if she needed, but she caught herself and simply rode her horse in.

"Sloppy." Tia whispered to Tina.

"Very." Tina whispered back.

Opening the gate without so much as checking to see who they were letting in was sloppy at best, and Blue Rose knew it, even if the guard didn't.

It was not a favorable first impression. Lakyus was dedicated to the safety of the people, the protection of the weak and the innocent, she had laid her life on the line countless times for that higher purpose...so very little made her angrier than those who were most responsible for the security of the people, treating their job as a joke, a jest, a mockery of significance. She was also a noble woman by birth, born and bred and accustomed to command, and she let that aura of authority pour out of her when she shouted...

"Bring me the commander of the watch! Bring THEM NOW!" She snapped with fury, causing a number of guards to jump nearly out of their skin. Beyond the jump, nobody moved. "NOW!" She snapped again. A guard came up to her...who was...sort of a guard.

One look at him told her that he shouldn't have worn that armor. He was clean faced, so much so that it was obvious he wasn't old enough to do it yet. The armor was a poor fit and it would be years before he would be of age to wear it.

"Ma'am, I'm in charge for now..." He said as he took of the much to large helmet.

Lakyus looked aghast. "How old are you boy?" She asked smartly.

"Thirteen...last week." He said nervously.

"Why in the names of all the gods are YOU in charge?" She asked in shock.

"I'm the only one over here who hasn't been demoted yet an...well...the watch commander is...asleep." He said.

Lakyus felt her eyes narrow, the rest of her team was feeling no better about this.

"Let me guess...he doesn't actually work a nightshift." She said as she leaned down from her horse.

The young man couldn't meet her eyes, he looked down and muttered out a "No ma'am."

"He's passed out drunk." She guessed.

His lack of response, was response enough.

"Who is in charge of him?" She asked.

"The Marquis Ysude...in the great hall." He said, and grateful for a chance to look away, he pointed to a hill near the center of the small city.

"Thank you." She said coolly, deciding that a boy that young shouldn't bear the brunt of her wrath for not knowing how to do what he wasn't prepared for. "We're going to see him, you make sure that you start challenging people who come to the gate."

The boy nodded numbly and went back to his position, while Lakyus and the rest of the team rode through the city. Her eyes swept over the area and neither she nor the team felt impressed by what they saw.

The streets were cobblestone but the had many gaps as if not well maintained, there was refuse thrown haphazardly and they saw no guards patrolling the streets. The homes were nice enough as far as they went, but the people they saw seemed anxious and nervous, or angry and defensive. More than once they saw people yelling at each other in the streets, though the hubub made it difficult to tell just what was being said.

It was a considerable relief to Lakyus when they reached the city center and found a temple to the four gods, and not much beyond that, a slight incline upwards lead to another inner wall, and from there she saw the rise of towers from an inner sanctum area, the center of government and the resting place of whatever power controlled this city.

Lakyus guided her horse to the temple, and the rest of Blue Rose followed without a second thought, when they got to the front, Lakyus dismounted and bound her horse, she looked over to her team, they were still mounted on their horses. "I...need a little while, if you all want to ride ahead, be my guest, but I'd like to speak to the priest here." She said, and looked the temple over.

"We'll wait." Evileye said, glad her mask skewed not only face, but voice, allowing her to more easily hide her sense of anxiety.

The building was white like most temples, and decorated columns bracketed the door, a large bronze thing that had the images of the four gods engraved all over it. She approached, step by step up the stairs, and pulled a rope that ran up to a metal pole that passed through the wall, she heard a bell ring through the hole, and waited until someone opened the doors.

Lakyus did not have to wait long, the door opened slowly, enough for one person to enter, which she did, and an elderly woman greeted her. The woman was dressed in white, but lacked any of the materials that usually indicated a priest, so Lakyus concluded she was a patron or an attendant of some sort.

"Excuse me, I'm Lakyus of Blue Rose, I'm here to see the priest, is he or she in?" She asked.

The woman cracked a toothless smile, "Aye, ees in, c'mon back to is office, I'm sur eed be glad to see ye." She said and turned around. Lakyus looked over the temple, and she inhaled the air as deeply as she could, as if breathing in the essence of the gods themselves, she held her arms out as she stood, as if opening them to the embrace of the deity to whom she had pledged her entire life, she felt the holiness of the place embracing her, the alter shining white as it reflected the Sun through a strategically placed window, it was as if the gods were calling her to it, and she strode step by step forward, her voice, so filled with wrath before, so filled with anxiety over days of shaken foundations, lilted out softly as she sang a hymn to the gods, softly, gently it floated through the air and echoed off the lovingly tended stone.

Finally she was before the alter and knelt in prayer before it. Her hands shook for the first time in weeks, and all the shaking she had suppressed was poured out of her body through them as they clasped together, her head bowed and she prayed to her divine guide.

"Please...grant me wisdom of god of water, tell me I am making the right choices, I have seen things I never thought I would see, heard things I never thought I would hear, and I am...I am lost. Lost...so lost..." She looked up to the ornate colored glass representation of the gods that took up most of the wall behind the alter.

"I saw necromancy and did not slay the necromancer, I saw the undead and did not strike them down, I took work to protect those who use them, am I sinning before your will as I suspect...or is this the right path? How am I to know, if you will not speak to me...please...wisdom...that is all I ask for, to know that I do right in your eyes."

She bowed her head again in devotion and prayer, her hands held one another so tightly that her nails dug into her skin and droplets of blood fell from where nail met flesh. Her eyes clenched tight and she did not care for the pain. "If I choose wrong, I damn or doom my sisters...please...something."

A soothing voice carried over to her. "That you ask for wisdom, is where it begins my child." An elderly man answered, as he entered through a nearby door.

Lakyus's eyes flew open widely, "I'm sorry...how much did you hear?" She asked embarrassed.

"Just enough." He said with a grandfatherly smile. "You're troubled. It is my task from the six that I help the troubled. Please...tell me." He said as he approached and touched her shoulder. He didn't look down at her as his hand touched her, he looked up at the rendering of the gods.

"The gods smile on those who seek the help they need." He said, "We are all stronger together, united as one."

Lakyus nodded slightly and relayed who she was and what she was here for. As she got to the information about Black Justice, she felt him grow tense.

"I know them." He said. "Kedyn has been...infested with these necromancers for some time."

Lakyus looked at him, prompting him to continue. "They do their dark arts in secret while they worship in public, we have seen them with the undead, and they bear arms like bandits, swaggering around like bully boys...they're nothing but trouble. They may speak one way, but they are not what they say at all." He said.

Lakyus swallowed hard, "What am I to do?" She asked.

"What do the gods will?" He asked. "You know that already. Do you truly need me to tell you, leader of Blue Rose, defender of all manking, what the right thing to do is?" He asked with a soft chiding in his voice.

She shook her head slowly. "No."

"Then why are you asking for permission to follow your conscience?" He asked with an almost humorous tone of voice.

"It doesn't seem right though, its not what my conscience is telling me..." She said.

"That is the test of faith, that is what the six give us to challenge us to do right, no matter what, even if it doesn't feel wrong, who should we trust more, the gods, or ourselves?" He asked.

She was silent.

"You know the answer." He said softly and squeezed her shoulder.

"I do." Lakyus said. "Thank you. I feel much better now."

"I am but the instrument of the gods." He said and bowed his head.

Lakyus stood, and began to walk out of the temple without another backwards look, and came out and found her team standing around in apparent idleness.

"Better?" Gagaran asked.

"Much." Lakyus said with a genuine smile.

"Good." Said the twins in unison.

"Lets go then." Evileye added.

"Not yet, I want to see more of this city." Lakyus said. That prompted an odd look from the others, but as they shared a look, they shrugged.

"I'd like to know more about what we're dealing with here before I go speak with the Marquis, there may be more issues at play that we don't know yet." Lakyus explained, and the others expressions showed their understanding. So they began to roam around the city, and eventually they found themselves at a small square with a midsized building done entirely out of black stone. "This can only be one thing." Lakyus said.

"Black Justice." Evileye said, speaking what Lakyus thought.

"Do we go in?" Gagaran asked casually...more casually than she might have said weeks before.

"We do. Or at least, I do." Evileye said. "I'll check it out, why don't you all wait here? Keep an eye on the street, see if anything catches your eyes."

The rest of them found that acceptable and they dismounted from their horses, Evileye secured hers and walked up the black stairs and was confronted with a large door of ebony wood, she knocked firmly and the door opened slowly. When she walked in she found a service going on.

"...For though we find our neighbors against us, our brothers and sisters are with us, as we are challenged by what is wrong, we must be right. The will of the god of justice is that we learn what it is to do right, and do that, in imitation of his mercy, his wrath, his glory, the shadow of our small actions may be small before his own, but they are ours, and cover our little place in the world with the consequences of our presence..." A priest said from the front. As he spoke, Evileye looked left and right, there were many kneeling figures, and the priest held a spiral staff that clicked as he paced, the spiral angled up, peaking at the top with an apple. It was a curious thing to see, but she was even more impressed with the design. The windows were laid in such a way that the sun shone through various areas and fell directly over the areas where people knelt or sat, and cast a shadow on a red stone floor. Shadows, blood, and shining light...it wasn't lost on the observant Evileye.

She waited patiently as the service continued until its conclusion, and when the people filtered out...again she noticed there was not one of them that was not armed, she approached the priest. She looked him over more closely, he was middle aged but had a firm looking body under black cloth that clearly concealed at least some armor.

She held out her hand to him, and he took it and shook it firmly as she said, "Good afternoon, my name is Evileye, of Blue Rose." His eyes widened but he did not break his grip.

"Ulthis Ndarion. Priest of Black Justice in Keydn, and I know who you are, I've been expecting you. I did not however...expect you to be a vampire." He said softly.

She froze, then she tightened her grip and her eyes widened behind her mask, her grip became tight enough to crush a human hand three times over...but he didn't even flinch. "Have I passed your test?" He asked. "Dispel illusion." He said in a tranquil voice, and his eyes went from their gentle brown, to blood red.

"You're...how..." She fumbled for words, unsure if she should draw a weapon or not as she released the handshake and stepped back.

"I was born with a talent...I call it 'Identify'. Without even trying, I know what a creature is on sight if I see even a glimpse of flesh. It has been almost useless for the last one hundred years, I never expected it to be useful now." He replied in a tranquil voice.

Her hand went to her weapon and the priest closed his blood red eyes, "There is no need, fellow vampire, I am not going to give up your secret, but, you can remove your mask, nobody will disturb us here, the only other person in the church is my wife, and she is in the basement of the church doing inventory and will not be done for hours." His voice was as calm as a gentle summer breeze, and though she was breathing hard at her secret being exposed, she realized there was no further harm to be done at this point, and it felt...so good to take it off before. She gingerly, slowly, reached up and removed it from her face, and blood red eyes met blood red eyes.

"You said...wife. Is she...?" Evileye began.

"No, she is a human being." He answered.

"Did you ensnare her with hypnosis?" Evileye asked with a hard edge to her voice.

"No." Ulthis said in a voice that, though soft, carried iron conviction within it.

"Does she know...about you?" She asked.

"She does." He said with a gentle smile. "She...donates to me." He answered.

Evileye felt her eyes go wide. "So she's just...food?"

She saw the first real hint of fury in his eyes at what she said.

"NO!" He said firmly. "She is my wife, and has been for twenty years. I love her and she loves me, she donates to me out of love, and the act between us is one of intimacy and warmth, our embrace is comfort, and I take from her only what she offers, and that only tenderly and with care. We have the trust of years and trials and a common bed, that I would never betray." She felt the outrage in his voice, and she lowered her head to him.

"I apologize. It is just..." She began, but he interrupted.

"That vampires are usually predators." He finished. "You needn't tell me that." He answered, "But as you are an exception, you should know that I am also, if you can exist, why can't I?" He asked softly, the tranquility returning to his voice.

"Does your congregation know?" She asked.

"Only a few of the leaders, those I have known for years. In time I will open up more fully, but the more people who know a secret, the more likely it is that it will be leaked to the wrong people. When you trust people, you put yourself in the position of trusting the people they trust, including people unknown to you, and their trust is not always well placed. So I keep it to a bare few." He said.

"Were you ever a predator?" She asked.

"To my shame." He said with his head lowered, "A hundred years ago when I was turned and knew nothing, is that not true for all in...our position?" He asked.

It was Evileye's turn to lower her head. "It is. I suppose I cannot turn on you without turning on myself." She said.

He chuckled. "We're a pair aren't we. The oddity of our circumstances being what they are?"

She rolled her blood red eyes, "I suppose so. I suppose so...but I hope you'll forgive me if I want to confirm that you're telling the truth, you know, about your wife and all." She said gently.

He shrugged. "I can understand that. Join us for dinner tonight, I live in the house around the corner from here, it has a red door on the front with a knocker shaped like a miniature mace."

"I'll take you up on that." She said.

"Does your team know?" He asked softly.

"They don't." She said with envy in her voice. "So...how did you come to be here?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I joined Black Justice some time ago, I was a follower of Neia Baraja during the war, I'd used my ability to help my wife escape the demihumans, and as she spoke, I saw that she was going to change things significantly, and I hoped I could influence her for the better...I didn't really need to as it turned out. With the undead King and her observations in E-Rantel, she was the most openly accepting human I'd ever seen. One of her followers found out what I was...accidentally, but when he saw that my wife knew, and after investigating found that I had learned to live among humans, not simply prey on them, he invited me to join the priesthood. I spent two years in Nazarick several months ago, and studied the holy book that is to be distributed to all. I also studied other subjects in his library to prepare me to tend to the needs of the people, including ethics, rhetoric, and counseling, among other things, all from the library of Ashurnibapal, and was then assigned here. Now...here I am." He said simply.

Evileye was still struggling with the concept of years passing within a month or so, but the important issue at hand was whether or not he was being truthful, and she found she lacked reason to doubt him, and his presence suggested he was speaking the truth, in particular that he had taken the risk of revealing himself to an adamantite ranked adventurer and revealing that he knew her secret as well.

"This is...a lot to take in." She said, "Heteromorphs in Black Justice, living alongside humans...acceptance by humans..." She became whistful in her voice when she uttered the last words, and lost her focus on the fantasy.

"Its a new world being birthed within these walls." He said in a peaceful voice. "There are bound to be great pains in labor as we strive to bring it forth. But it may yet be ours. I sometimes think I can see it, I know the god of hope can see it, I heard it in his voice when he spoke on the subject."

"God of hope?" She asked.

"That is the aspect in which I worship the Sorcerer King." He said, "I have lived in shadow, shame, and fear, for far longer than I have lived among people. Meeting my wife years ago changed me for the better, it gave me peace, but that did not end the need to hide what I was, out of fear not just of violence by others, but out of fear of losing those I loved best. To have hope that the world will one day let me simply be, and judge me by how I treat with them, not the nature of my existence? That is what I was given by the Sorcerer King, that is the promise of his rule and of Black Justice. So that is the way in which I serve him." Ulthis's voice was as calm as ocean waves on a calm day, and as he spoke, Evileye got lost in the vision of what he was trying to build.

"I would love to see a world like that..." Evileye said whistfully. "Perhaps I should meet with this Sorcerer King." She said, "Or at least with Momon and learn his views..." Her voice became a little moony, and she forcibly shook her head as if to dispel the growing thoughts, and then focused on Ulthis again, I'm bantering to much, let me get down to business for now." She said.

"As you wish." Ulthis said congenially.

"We've been hired by King Caspond to secure the people, stories circulated about renegade paladins killing followers of your religion, and we are the response." She said firmly.

"Well I don't know about outside renegades, but we have problems enough inside as it is." He said in a tired voice.

"What do you mean?" She asked him.

"Come with me." He said and walked towards the back of the temple.

Evileye followed and he spoke with a lowered voice, "The followers of the four gods are a problem. Every time something goes wrong in the city, they blame us. A loaf of bread goes missing, we're thieves, a traveler disappears on the road, we kidnapped them for our secret evil rites. A person converts, we cast dark magic on them to brainwash them." He said with frustration as they reached the back.

He opened the door to his office, allowed her in, then closed the door and they sat at opposite ends of his desk. "If there is so much as a sniffle or a sneeze, we're accused of trying to cause a plague. Our people make up half the city guard, our total numbers are almost one third of the city...but we can't hold a service without someone complaining, even though we chartered the temple lawfully and built it with the express permission of the Marquis Ysude's father. We haven't broken any laws, but things keep getting worse, thanks in no small part to the priests themselves. They preach against us all the time." He said in frustration.

Evileye frowned, and let him continue. "We offer our healing for free as we're instructed, but the temples refuse to allow their followers here to come, saying we're putting curses in our spells and using the people for dark rituals. The Marquis has also expressly forbidden the use of undead labor, and as a result many of us struggle, because the temple priests of the four gods have forbidden their followers from hiring us, buying from us, or selling to us except at triple the normal price, imposing a kind of 'tax' on our existence." He said, rubbing his hand through the thick black hair on his head, his blood red eyes looked very tired, a weariness Evileye felt keenly herself as the weight of the mask in her hand seemed to grow, making it an ever greater burden, and as if she felt afraid of not having it on for so long around someone else, she replaced it. He clearly noticed, but politely did not comment, and he went a step further and briefly cast his illusion spell again, returning his eyes from red to brown, before continuing the conversation as if neither had returned to hiding what they were.

"I am honestly not sure what to do." He said.

Evileye frowned behind her mask. "Has there been violence?" She asked.

He shook his head. "No, lots of yelling, cursing at us, that kind of thing, but nothing more. Our people are half the city guard remember, and all our people travel armed and train often. We've been drawing a stipend from the temple in the capitol to help offset the consequences for our followers, but I don't know how long that can last." He added.

Evileye place her hands on the desk and folded one over the other. "This...might be a problem. I'll have to go over this with my leader...we are supposed to protect the targeted population...but against renegades...this is different. I don't know how the King would feel if we started killing angry citizens if it came down to it. We may need another option." She said grimly.

He nodded numbly, "I understand."

"How many of you are there all total?" She asked.

"Around ten thousand of us altogether, out of a city of thirty thousand people." He answered.

"Is there anywhere you could go if you had to?" She asked.

"That could support us while we started all over?" He asked incredulously. "Not that I know of."

"This...is going to be a tough one." Evileye said.

"Tell me about it." The priest said with a sigh. "To top it off, the Marquis who had been in charge is dead, and his son is no friend of ours. He's tied to the traditional temples, so he does absolutely nothing about our harassment, and if that isn't enough, he's been selling positions in the city."

"What do you mean?" Evileye asked with trepidation.

"Just what I said." He explained, "If you want to be a tax collector, you buy the job, if you want to be a judge, you buy the job, if you want to be a watch commander, you buy the job. Once he sells the job, nobody can fire the person who bought it except for him. The people who have those positions now have to turn a profit from them, so they frequently extort payments for doing the work they're already paid to do. Need to go before a judge for a civil case, you buy the ruling, or even the specific verdict. The tax collector wants to turn a profit, he tells you that you owe more than you do and he pockets the difference. Some can afford it, others can't." He said with grim voice and even more grim expression.

"Wow...thank you for the information." Evileye said as she stood, she shook his hand again and walked back out to her team.

She briefed them on what she'd learned about the city, leaving out the part about the priest being a vampire for now, but she added, "The priest invited me for dinner with his wife tonight. I intend to go." The group nodded in understanding. "Also...there is more..." She paused, and that drew concerned looks. "It shouldn't be revealed here, just take my word for it for now, we need to be far away from earshot for this." That drew even more concerned looks that went from Evileye to Lakyus, and Lakyus said...

"If Evileye says it should wait...that is enough for me. Does it change anything about how we confront the Marquis?" She asked.

"No." Evileye said flatly..

"Then I think it is time we paid a visit to the Marquis Ysude." Lakyus said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Agreed." The twins and Gagaran said together.

With the discussion settled, they remounted their horses and rode to the inner wall. This one had the sense to ask for identification, and at the mention of Blue Rose the iron gate could not rise fast enough. They found themselves faced with man in shining steel armor who introduced himself as the commander of the interior, Gneaus Haroni.

"Take us to the Marquis, Gneaus." Lakyus said, "I would have words on the state of his guard at the front gate, and the state of the city that I've seen thus far."

Though he had begun to speak a more elaborate welcome, her frosty tone made him think the better of it, and he closed his mouth quickly and sent a runner to alert the Marquis about his important guests.

Blue Rose was given a small escort of a single squad as they walked into the hall, and they soon found themselves before a sizable throne on which there sat a man of medium build, he had a short brown beard, a slightly crooked nose, and was clad from head to toe in expensive silks. In his hand was a bejeweled goblet, and not far away a servant held a bottle of expensive looking red wine.

Blue Rose approached in a diamond formation, and Lakyus bowed politely, as did the rest of her team. "I am Lakyus, Adamantite adventurer, leader of Blue Rose, and I am here at the request of King Caspond." She said.

The Marquis did not look pleased to see her, but she saw the very slight widening of the eyes that occurred when someone recognized the opportunity to exercise their greed. She let out an internal sigh, but let nothing audible come from her.

"Welcome Blue Rose, its good to have you." He said with a voice that said it wasn't good at all. "What brings you to us today?" He asked.

"We've been contracted to assist in the securing of citizens under threat by rogue paladins under the former commander, Remedios Custodio." Lakyus said in a formal tone.

"Well I have heard of that being an issue somewhat farther South...but if you ask me...this is one time you should abandon a contract." The Marquis Ysude said.

"Why is that?" Lakyus asked curiously.

"I know of the ones you're speaking about, the ones called 'Black Justice', they're followers of the undead, they don't deserve protection." He drank from his goblet and held it out for the servant to refill. "My city is swamped with many of them, they gripe about their taxes, they interfere with temple business, and they want to practice their necromantic arts in public. Quite frankly they're nothing but criminals." He said contemptuously.

"I saw them manning your walls though. You let criminals man the walls?" Lakyus asked sardonically.

He waved a hand dismissively. "They do that just to look good, but I know what they really are, jumped up thugs following a monster. The only reason I don't have them all arrested or killed is because..." He paused and looked around, "everybody else get out." He said, and the hall emptied leaving him alone with Blue Rose. As the door shut, he finished his statement, "is because I can't be entirely sure we can win."

The eyes of the members of Blue Rose widened. "You are a priestess of the water god, am I right?" The Marquis Ysude asked.

"I am..." Lakyus said cautiously.

"Then you know of what I speak, they're spreading, they're dangerous, you should not...cannot protect them." He said firmly. "Instead, I ask you, help me kill them."

**AN: Well I hope you liked that cutoff point and have enjoyed the short exploration of the city of Kedyn, expect some interesting developments in the next chapter, and as always, if you enjoyed this, please leave a review. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read my work, but it is feedback that really pushes those reward bells in the brain, so even a simple 'I like, want more' is motivating. :) **


	8. Inquiring Eyes

Silence hung like an anchor in the waters of a still lake, nobody moved, nobody spoke, Lakyus could scarcely believe her ears. Marquis Ysude looked back at them with hard eyes, as if expecting that they answer him before he would speak again, before Evileye broke the tension by saying, "We are contracted by the King. As long as that contract stands, we can't break it."

The Marquis Ysude's eyes went wide, and he through his goblet of gold across the room to crash hard against the stone wall, whereupon it fell to the stone floor and made an even greater clatter. "The King is a fool!" He shouted. "Listen to me, these people reject the gods, they deny our ways, they are not loyal to the country, their loyalty...if they have any at all, is reserved for the undead! Have you not seen what they do?!" He shouted furiously.

Evileye closed her mouth in surprise.

"Excuse my comrade." Lakyus answered, "We've spent days among the people you speak of, and while I have seen...disturbing things...I have not seen them prey upon anyone, betray anyone, while visiting Foundoton they treated us with kindness. I admit I cannot deny the possibility of trickery, but I cannot assume it either. If there is some evidence that shows that they are not deserving of our protection, or that they are a threat, I can present that to the King and withdraw us from the contract, or perhaps assist you if there is a real threat."

Evileye struggled to maintain her calm...and it was only possible because she recognized the extremely diplomatic tone of voice Lakyus was using, how much she meant of what she said, if she meant any of it at all, might have been in doubt, but the carefully structured noncommittal reply would play well to a nobleman's sensibilities and open them up to a possible means to make their point. Still...she tried to imagine herself fighting alongside her sisters to exterminate Black Justice in Kedyn, and her imagination failed her.

"I understand..." the Marquis replied, "Your reputation depends not only on your power, but on your reliability on contract fulfillment, yes...yes." He nodded.

"In the meantime Marquis Ysude I have to bring up things that I find extremely disturbing that I have found in the short time since my arrival." Lakyus said firmly.

He nodded, inviting her to continue.

"I have heard that you are selling offices to raise money, and that the people to whom you sell these offices, treat them as a means to enrich themselves at the expense of the people they are supposed to serve. Your head of the watch at the outer gate was passed out drunk, every other man there had been so demoted that a thirteen year old BOY was left in charge, he could not even fit his armor, let alone give orders, and he had no idea of what orders to give. Had we been hostile, your city would be in deep trouble." She said.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" She asked sharply, "And bear in mind before you speak," she said quickly before words came out of his opening mouth, "I come bearing the direct authority from King Caspond himself, to oversee all aspects of the fulfillment of our contract, the way you handle your city IS my business, and I will report failures back to the King."

His mouth closed. Anger burned in his eyes. He said nothing for a long moment.

"I do sell offices, I have no choice. I was drawing a stipend of city funds from the temples for the cost of healing, but Black Justice does it for free, so that was gone until the temples banned their followers from going elsewhere. I was drawing income from fur industry, but now people are disappearing in the woods."

"Wait...what?" Lakyus asked. "What has happened in the woods?"

"The wilderness is always a dangerous place, you can do everything right, be perfectly prepared, but still die out there, so there were always a few who would go missing and never turn up, but in the last year, its been more common, and in the last few months, its been so bad that our trappers won't go out anymore. I've managed to keep the number secret from the population as a whole...but the trappers all know each other, they know when their friends don't come home. The hunters are the same, they won't hunt in the western woods anymore, and the returns are diminishing in the more sparse East and in the North as the larger animals are hunted out, so meat prices are rising and soon the hunters will either quit or leave, with no fur trade and declining results from the hunts for meat; the merchants who used to come to us from the surrounding villages don't bother to come here. We don't make enough other goods that are unique. Our farmers are now scared out of their wits, and the last season was bad. Yes I'm selling offices, but I don't have a CHOICE!" And if that isn't enough, the word is starting to leak about the disappearances. I've bribed a few guards to spread rumors that people have just abandoned everything, but its only a matter of time before people stop believing that and realize that people have gone missing entirely! If you have an idea of what to do, give it to me NOW!" He slammed his fist down on the throne and leaned forward as he spoke in an ever more fervent tone.

"You tell me where I'm to get the money to maintain this city! You tell me! I've lost half my guards because I can't pay them, Black Justice has volunteered, but they're the biggest part of the problem! They're behind the disappearances! They're depriving the city of its income from healing and they're insanely well armed! With their dark arts and their necromancy and their service to the undead...now they've taken over half the city guard because they're the ones with the best weapons! Our city is HOSTAGE NOW!" He said with a furious and rough voice."

His gaze swept over all of them. "Now you show up saying you're here to protect THEM?! THEM?! The ones behind all this?! Of course I ask you to switch sides and help us, they're bringing Kedyn to the brink of financial ruin and with the only military force here, in another year they'll have my head on a spike and they'll have taken over entirely!" He stabbed his finger down at Lakyus, rising half way from his very unsteady seat of power, "You are a priestess of the god of water, and in the name of your god I demand something be done before the undead servants have another city, just like they took Prart!"

He sat slowly back down to his seat and put his hand to his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair. "I know, I've put you on the spot, I will do something about the watch commander, or rather, I will have Gneaus take care of him, that will be worse for the drunkard. But I am working with what I have, and I am losing more to work with every month. As the farmers grow more fearful, I fear eventually only Black Justice farmers will bring in food, and how long will this city function without food?" He spoke with exasperation in his voice, and Blue Rose was silent.

Lakyus seemed somewhat chastened, and answered him, "Marquis Ysude, all I can say for now is that we will investigate and do what we can about securing the citizens of your city, ALL...your citizens." Her voice contained a note of finality. "Will you excuse us, we need to see to our lodgings for our time here."

The Marquis leaned to one side and waved them out, "Send the rest of the court back in on your way, would you?" He said in a tired voice, and Lakyus turned and walked out with her team, allowing the courtiers to reenter the great hall.

She was silent on her way out, and though everybody wanted to say something, it was clear that Lakyus was not ready to speak or to hear. "When we get space for ourselves." She said softly, and her team nodded in response. They walked out, got their horses and directions to the nearest inn, and moved out.

Getting anywhere in a small city was a fairly straight forward affair, any city is meant to be navigated even if it grows up haphazardly unplanned over time, and Kedyn was no exception, even riding together on horses presented little problem. What was bothering them was that as they rode at a slow trot through the streets, even passing by areas of commerce, little was taking place that was worth mentioning, people weren't buying much, and others were clearly not selling, a number of businesses were boarded up and doors were closed, there were people out begging, but they were not as many as one would think, and Evileye and Lakyus both quietly concluded that the reason was that those who were in a state of want knew mostly that there weren't many who had anything to spare.

Evileye was relieved when they reached the inn, and the innkeeper's face lit up when she saw five people walk through the door. "We need five rooms." Lakyus said promptly. The woman, a matronly woman with a wide face and green eyes that must have shone like stars when she was young and filled with vigor, was quick to meet their needs and said, "Twenty-five silver each."

Lakyus froze as she was reaching for her pouch. "Wait...what?" She asked.

"Twenty silver each." The woman said without missing a beat.

"I'm sorry?" Lakyus asked again.

"I mean fifteen silver each." The woman said, again seamlessly.

"Did you mean coppers?" Lakyus asked helpfully.

"Yes of course dearie, fifty coppers each." She said as if none of the rest of that had just happened.

"Which comes with a morning an evening meal?" Lakyus asked.

"Yes yes," She said sweetly, "Of course sixty coppers a day will get you two meals a day." Then she held out her hand, and Lakyus rolled her eyes, almost bemused, at the way the woman went from one sum to another without missing a beat, it was the most unusual type of haggling in Lakyus's entire life, but she found herself oddly amused by the whole experience, to amused to be annoyed.

She lay the money on the counter, took the keys, handed them to her team members, and then they ventured up the stairs to their rooms. The main floor was desolate, if there were other guests, there was no evidence of them, very unusual for a city in even the worst of times.

When they got to Lakyus's room, the first thing Lakyus did after allowing her team entry, was look up and down the hall, then close and lock the door behind her.

After that, when all the members were seated, all eyes turned to Evileye.

"Before we go in to what we learned in the Great Hall...what is it that you learned." Lakyus asked.

Evileye sighed heavily, "You have to stay calm. All of you, you can't overreact, you can't shout, you can't charge out with hammer, sword, or kunai, you have to stay in your seats and listen to me, I want your oaths as my sisters that you will do this for me." She said softly.

They shared an uncomfortable glance, but then Lakyus said, "If that is what you need...I swear on the lives of the sisters I love, that I will neither speak nor move from this seat, until Evileye has said her peace."

The others quickly followed suit, and Evileye nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright...I'll just say it then...just please remember your word. The head priest of the temple of Black Justice in this city...is a vampire." Her voice was soft, but carried the weight of a mountain.

"How...do you know that?" Lakyus asked with breathless shock.

"When I explained who I was and what I ws here for, he dropped his illusion that made him appear human, and revealed it to me." Evileye said, taking extreme care not to reveal any hint that he learned her nature as well, her voice was neutral, her news was not.

"He's behind the disappearances." Lakyus said with firm conviction.

"I don't believe so." Evileye said.

"Why not?" Gagaran asked.

"Because he mentioned them to me first, because he has a human wife, because he genuinely seems to care for his people. I know danger when I'm close to it, and while I admit it was a surprise, I didn't get that sense of evil from him." Evileye said softly. "He genuinely seems to just want our help."

"Skeletons under the control of humans is one thing...its...hard to accept. But a vampire...when has a vampire ever cared about humans as anything but food?" Lakyus asked.

The mask Evileye wore seemed to bear the weight of the world, but hard as it was to not tear it off and scream "for years sister!" and show off her wide blood red vampire eyes, she didn't dare to do so, and kept the mask in place and was at least grateful that it hid the pain on her face, and that it modulated her voice so that the hurt wouldn't carry with the sound.

"He's been married to a human for twenty years...I don't think we can just dismiss this and declare him guilty." Evileye said.

"Couldn't it be just...cover, for him?" Tia asked.

Evileye shook her head, "I don't think so, if what he said was true, she knows about his nature and actually donates her blood to him by choice. He took the time to protect her life during Jaldabaoth's invasion, and he fought against the demon during the war. If he didn't care, he could have abandoned her and found a replacement, or he could have benefited from siding with the demihumans and demons. Look...we've already seen one exception to the rules we normally know, in the form of the Sorcerer King. We've heard some of the stories about Neia Baraja, and how he's given power to her and to his subjects that has elevated their ability and given them dignity..."

"What's your point?" Gagaran asked.

"If there can be one exception, then there can be another." Evileye said simply.

"Wait...aren't you supposed to go to dinner with him later? You're not still going, are you?" Tina asked with concern.

Evileye nodded. "I am, and I'll go alone, trust me. I can handle one night creature on my own. The rest of you explore the city, find the families of the missing trappers and hunters, lets see what we can learn, and...also...lets consider looking for help on this one. This city is as tense as a taut bow and I'd rather the arrow not launch."

"I object." Lakyus said. "You shouldn't go alone. Roses go together, losing any of you, to over confidence of all things, would be to much."

Evileye smiled behind her mask and spontaneously reached out and gave Lakyus a very tight hug. "Lakyus you're sometimes more of a mother hen than a sister." Evileye said with a laugh, prompting several laughs from the rest of the team.

That seemed to defuse the tension, and Evileye repeated herself. "Trust me, its better if I go alone, he may let his guard down, and its easier for one to escape than five, plus he's in the middle of the city net to his own temple, I doubt he'd be reckless enough to attack me there even if he wanted to." She said reasonably.

"Alright..." Lakyus said, "I don't like it, but you can go on your own, we'll explore the city throughout this evening and see what we can find out. We'll meet up in the morning for breakfast downstairs. For now, go and unpack." She said, and the girls broke up to go to their different rooms.

Evileye went to her room and put away her things, but she didn't linger long, instead she went out, not to the home of the priest, but to the Black Justice temple, she remembered what the vampire Ulthis had said about his wife, and Evileye figured this would be the best time to determine if what he said of her was true.

She reached the door of the temple in short order and paused to listen, her vampire senses told her that there was nobody else inside, she heard the ever so slight scratching of someone writing with quill on paper, she was still there. So Evileye opened the door, entered, and closed it quietly behind her. With no need to hide her powers from her sisters, she moved with vampiric swiftness to the back of the temple and sought the stairs. The sound of scratching guided her to where they were and for a moment she paused and stood at the top of them.

She looked down, stairs were wooden, smooth and well made, but the walls were stone, and sconces with candles were embeded into the material, the candles were all lit, but nearly burned down. After a moment of consideration, Evileye thought it unlikely that Ulthis himself would be present, nor would he miss her yet, this was her chance for a private conversation.

She allowed herself to flow down the stairs without a sound, and removed her mask, there was a hallway down below, which she followed to its end, a few candles cast dancing shadows on wall, and floor, but it was dim, which made the room at the end stand out all the more, because it was brightly lit. This told Evileye that the first thing he'd said was clearly true. A vampire could work easily in darkness, but a human required ample light, the fact that she used so much, told him that Ulthis was truthful about that.

She moved to the entrance and stood at the door, she looked at the woman, she was small, about Evileye's height, with black hair that went down to her waist, she had her back to the adventurer as she worked, counting out materials on a series of shelves in front of her, and marking things off on the paper she held on a small wooden slat. Evileye stood silently watching the woman for a moment, before perhaps two moments or even three, it was so strange to think of this woman, this very human woman, who seemed to have no special senses, power, or ability to defend herself...in love with a night creature that fed on human blood...while Evileye had to conceal her identity from four of the most powerful female adventurers in the known world. The dichotomy was frankly galling.

Finally she could bear it no more, and Evileye spoke up. "Are you the human guilty of loving a vampire, wife of Ulthis, priest of Black Justice, the vampire guilty of loving a human?" She asked, her voice echoing slightly underground. The woman practically jumped out of her skin as she whirled around.

She seemed to feel a moment's relief when she saw it was just a young woman in front of her, and then...Evileye could feel the change, the tension in the woman as she went pale, her eyes fell to those of Evileye, the blood red shining bright.

"You know what I am." Evileye said.

"I do." She said. "Have you come to kill me, is that my punishment for loving one of you?" She asked. "Do it then. I regret nothing, Ulthis is my everything, and he'll avenge me, whatever it is you plan to do to me, he will do a thousand times worse to you." Her voice was rather braver than Evileye expected, but beyond her expectation, Evileye heard the conviction in her voice and found that Ulthis had clearly been telling the truth about her loving him.

"Is it true you donate blood to him freely?" Evileye stepped forward, and the woman stepped back.

"It is. But only to him, I'll not give it to a monster." She said firmly, "You're going to have to kill me." Her voice was filled with conviction even as Evileye took another step, and she backed herself into the wall.

"Monster?" Evileye said. "I suppose I am a monster, but then...isn't he also, using you for food?" Evileye asked.

"No!" She said defiantly. "Its not what someone IS that makes them a monster, its what they DO. Ulthis isn't a monster! A monster wouldn't fight demons and demihumans to save me, a monster wouldn't march with people like me, to save people like me, at risk to himself, a monster wouldn't protect people, whatever his body is...he is good!" She snapped.

"So you are with him willingly, supplying him with blood, you love him, he loves you...and all that...despite that you're...well as different as you are? Does that sum it up?" Evileye said casually, taking another step closer, her smile revealing her fangs.

"Yes..." The woman said with trepidation, "Now quit scaring me, if you're going to kill me for all that then kill me already!" She closed her eyes and said a silent goodbye to her husband and waited for the end.

Only for the next thing she heard to be an enormous sigh of relief and the sound of a body flopping down into a chair next to a work table. She opened her eyes slowly...and saw Evileye sitting there with her elbow on the desk and her face in her hands, and she was very...very confused, a state that didn't change as Evileye uttered, "Oh praises be to whatever gods there are."

"What...the woman said as she relaxed, seeming to realize slowly that she was not in any danger."

"I owe you a deep apology ma'am." Evileye said, and knelt in front of her with head bowed. "My name is Evileye, of Blue Rose. I spoke with your husband Ulthis earlier, he learned my nature and revealed his own, and he told me about you...it was...forgive me, but it was impossible to just believe, so I had to find out for myself if he was telling the truth."

"And...the best way to do that was to scare me half to death?" She said in profound confusion.

"Frankly...yes." Evileye said. "People who are under vampiric enchantment are not capable of the same range of emotion and self preservation, they can casually interact, but they are not capable of dynamic responses to changing situations, like circumstances prone to fighting or fleeing. Also, if you were a vampire in disguise yourself, based on what I said, you'd have either attacked me, or revealed your vampiric nature in return. Lastly, if you were bribed or threatened, rather than committed by love, you'd have offered yourself to save yourself."

"So...you're not going to kill me and drink my blood?" She asked...almost incredulous at this point.

"No." Evileye said simply.

The woman approached in two swift steps and slapped Evileye across the face.

"I think I deserved that one." Evileye said flatly and touched her cheek.

"You did." The woman said firmly. "But I do understand, it was frightening...but you didn't actually say you'd come to kill me, I assumed that myself...so I guess I'm a bit of an ass as well." She said softly.

"Not really, given the circumstances...and of course it is true that most vampires are not exactly drinking buddies with humans." Evileye said, giving a slight friendly smile at the pun.

"Wait...so...Evileye of Blue Rose is a vampire?" She blinked several times as her brain caught up with the facts.

Evileye paused, "Miss...I'm sorry I didn't get your name."

"Calia." She said politely.

"Thank you," Evileye said, "Calia, nobody knows what I am, and I took a significant chance in revealing myself, and there is no guarantee that you won't let that knowledge slip. Can I ask that you allow me to remove that memory from you?" She asked.

Calia frowned. "And if I say no?"

"Then an Adamantite adventurer will live her life afraid that those she loves will learn the truth she's struggled to conceal." Evileye said.

"You won't force it on me?" She asked.

"I won't." Evileye responded.

"Then I will allow it." Calia said.

"Thank you." Evileye said. "Now, look into my eyes."

She took Calia's face between her hands, her blood red eyes glowed as Calia fell under their power.

"I am going to put on my mask, and you are going to forget that it was ever off, forget what I am, and then your trance will end." Evileye commanded.

"Yes..." Calia replied.

Evileye reached down, and put her mask into place again, and a moment later Calia shook her head, "What was I saying?" she asked.

"You were explaining the services the temple provided." Evileye 'reminded' her, not without a twinge of guilt.

"Oh, yes," she said, and then went on to give an explanation of how the rental of undead laborers helped supplement Black Justice members here who were unable to find work due to the hardship currently being suffered by the city's economy. Periodically goods and a stipend of coin were delivered, but it was expected to be temporary until trade and exports were restored.

"Do you know why things have ground to a halt?" She asked Calia.

"Not really, the trappers aren't saying much, but there are fewer of them than there used to be, same with the hunters, its been a real ordeal for us, without anything going out, nothing is coming in. Used to be the guards would go out and drink, stay at the inn, the tanners and the cloth trade did big business, but now all that has all but stopped entirely." She said with some regret.

"Well thank you Calia, you've given me a lot of information to consider, I'll see you at dinner soon." Evileye said with a polite wave as she strolled out.

"So that is an adamantite level adventurer." Calia said to herself. "She seems like such an ordinary girl, amazing how normal they can seem." She said softly, and finished off her inventory.

**AN: Yeah yeah, you want longer chapters and all that. I know. :) But formatting is a pain after I copy/paste it into the text box, and you don't have to wait THAT long, so just go with it already. ;) **

**As always, reviews are heartily invited. **


	9. Misery and Mystery

When it came time for the evening meal, Evileye presented herself at the house with the red door and mace knocker, and rapped three times in rapid succession, the door was opened by the now familiar Calia.

Calia opened the door and welcomed Evileye warmly. Her smile was on full display when she said, "Its so wonderful to have you, my husband rarely brings people home except the occasional member of the temple."

Evileye stepped through the door and found the residence to be...quite normal. There was a small open area from the front door, a pair of chairs sat between two book shelves, the books themselves bore the most beautiful signs a book can...the marks of wear, having been opened many times. The floor had an uncommon luxury, in that it had a small circular rug, and beyond the main room there was a small area for dining, a small low set table, and four chairs, a welcome sight for a pair of guests. The table was simply smoothed wood, and the chairs had a bit of leather secured the seat and to the back for greater comfort. There was a kitchen she could see, but not well from where she stood, and to the left of that another chamber, which she presumed was the bedroom. The walls, other than the two book shelves, were largely undecorated save for a single drawing of a village set on a hill, it was simple, no great masterpiece, but the artist had put much effort into it, and it drew her eye.

Calia noticed. "Thank you for appreciating what you see, poor effort though it is. Do you like it?"

Evileye approached it, the houses were simple cottages, thatched or wooden roofs, but the greenery popped out at the viewer, and she said, "Yes, very much."

"It is my husband's work." Calia said with a note of sadness. "It was our village, before the war. When Ulthis got me out...along with a handful of our neighbors, our homes were burned and those who didn't get out with us, were captured, and as I never saw them again, I assume, killed.

"When we made it somewhere safer, one of the areas in the South, Ulthis," Calia walked to him, and touched his arm, "saw that I was beside myself with grief, so he went out and purchased a small canvas and painted it from memory, so that I'd always be able to look back and see it as it was. That was the second time in the war he'd saved my life."

"It is...very impressive." Evileye said with politeness. She noticed that Ulthis appeared a bit embarrassed by the sentiment being so publicly spoken, but he covered it well by pulling out a chair and gesturing for her to make herself comfortable. "Please, sit." He said hastily, and Evileye obliged.

"Dear, our guest is aware of my nature, so if it isn't to much, would you bring me a glass?" Ulthis said with the utmost kindness in his voice.

"Evileye watched and listened carefully, there wasn't the slightest sign of distress or discomfort in Calia's affirmative response or the way she moved, not one single indication of fear. Her certainty that the woman spoke the truth was solidified in her mind.

As she was out of the room, he leaned in close to Evileye, "I have not told her about you, can you eat or drink anything?"

"I can eat small quantities, yes, though it is...uncomfortable." She said softly. "But...when I remove my mask...my eyes..." She whispered.

"I'm not much of a magic user, but I can use a simple illusion spell, your eyes will be as they were before you turned, at least for tonight, I can do that much." He said softly in return, and he quietly cast his spell.

"Oh and dear, only a small quantity of stew for our guest, she's been a bit unwell and cannot eat much." He said, again she gave the affirmative.

"So, I can see it all over your...mask...I guess." He said with a wry laugh. "What do you want to ask?" He probed.

"Are you in any way involved with the disappearing trappers or hunters?" She asked bluntly.

"What?" He asked, mystified.

"We've had a decline of both, but there are always a few accidents, and with the decline in yields, some have left but..."

Evileye raised her hand and interrupted, "So you've been told the same lie...listen, the hunters and trappers aren't having accidents, they're being taken, possibly killed when they go out there. They've been told to keep quiet to avoid a panic, and the Marquis spread a rumor that they had just given up and left over the decline in yields and have gone elsewhere. According to the Marquis though, this rumor is not going to work for much longer, and when that happens, you can guess where he will direct blame." She said seriously.

Calia returned before he could respond, and placed a glass filled with blood beside him, and a bowl of stew in front of Evileye. "Thank you Calia." Evileye said.

"Thank you my love." Ulthis said, and he kissed heer cheek when she leaned down, and placed her own bowl near to his.

For Evileye the whole scene was utterly bizarre, a secret vampire priest, a human wife, and a secret vampire adventurer, sitting down for dinner in a holy kingdom next door to a temple dedicated to the worship of a foreign undead king...what a day it was. It was with some hesitation that she removed her mask, sat bare faced across from the couple, thinking that it was almost as bizarre to be without her mask in front of people...as all the rest of those circumstances were.

Took a bite of the stew in front of her, and said, "Its quite good. You're an excellent cook Calia." Evileye said politely. She looked down at it, and figured it must be, the meat was well cooked and there were clean, fresh vegetables mixed within, it was a rather nice looking dish, though for all her enhanced senses, the taste of normal food was dulled considerably from what it had been before her turning, so it was mostly guesswork on her part about how good it was.

Calia however, smiled at the praise and appeared to detect nothing was amiss, "Thank you Evileye, I'm sure the humble fare of my house is nothing compared to the richness of the great hotels and palaces you must have visited, but I'll gladly accept your praise."

The next two hours were spent on mundane things, but which gave Evileye ample information about the city, the way offices were sold and how people who bought them turned a profit through bribes, and how this temple interacted with others around the Holy Kingdom. "So..." Evileye began, "the temples all communicate by the postal system the Sorcerer King created, with every temple being designated as building number 'one' for its city. What about in the larger cities where there may be more than one?" She asked.

"Well that hasn't happened yet, but you're not the first to ask, each temple after that will be named for a virtue, for example if there are two temples in the capitol, and I wanted to write something different for each, I would address one letter with 1Strength and the other with 1Justice. In this way I can easily exchange information with specific temples even when there is more than one per city." He answered.

"Clever." Evileye said, "And are you the only temple drawing monetary support from outside the city?" She asked.

"The only Black Justice temple, as far as I know." He answered, "One of the conditions is that the funds are distributed to our members, and that has helped with gaining converts, though how many are sincere and how many just want the support, I don't know." Ulthis said.

"What about the temple to the old gods?" She asked.

"I've seen the priests and other workers from the temples out shopping, but I know that the income from the people here has been on the wane, so I can only assume they are either drawing on outside support, or they are spending their reserves. They do still have some income because they've tried to forbid their members from coming to us for healing, not that everyone listens...but those that do, still pay the fee to stay in favor with the temple authorities." Ulthis answered, with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Calia had spoken periodically about the state of family affairs within the church, and from her Evileye learned that a number of families had recently had children, and that the temple had sent out a request for a teacher to be sent so that they could be educated. It made Evileye curious. "I noticed you have several books...well worn ones at that." She said.

"Oh yes." She said with a warm smile, "We both enjoy reading."

"Is that...common?" Evileye asked.

"It didn't used to be." Calia replied. "But the Sorcerer King has said that ignorance is weakness, and his servant, Pope Neia, has said that weakness of mind is as sinful as weakness of body, both must be cared for to honor the god of this world, as well as to honor ourselves."

"So learning to read is part of induction into the religion?" Evileye asked.

"Sort of." Calia answered, "It is required to become a priest, and priests are required to be teachers on the side when there isn't someone dedicated to that role. So anyone who joins us is expected to better themselves, not everybody chooses to start with reading though, some start with combat and fitness, some choose to work on their vices, each one decides for themselves, but in time we hope to ensure everyone who joins us is fully literate. That is why we've asked for a dedicated teacher, to start with the children as soon as we can."

"Fascinating." Evileye said.

The hour by then had grown late, Calia yawned. "You will excuse me I hope, if I go to bed now."

"You've been a wonderful host, thank you Calia." Evileye said with a smile, and the woman went to her bedroom.

As she opened the door, Evileye caught a glimpse of her face reflected in some glass, and saw the eyes of her youth on her face again, they were a beautiful sea green, a shade she'd almost forgotten she ever had. Her face was entirely human, for the first time in over two hundred years, and she could not look away, it was only the closing of the door that broke the moment, and Evileye looked down pensively.

"Are you alright?" Ulthis asked, detecting a change in her mood.

"Can you dispel the illusion Ulthis? I think I'm done pretending for the night." She said softly.

Then the magic was gone, and she was herself again, but she did not put on her mask. There was much more to say, and the night was filled with questions and answers, in both directions, and that didn't change until the dawn broke. When that time came, and the Sun peaked over the walls of the city and filled the place with light, Evileye stood up.

"Thank you." Evileye said with the deepest sincerity. "This fills in a lot of blanks about how things work in Kedyn, and in Black Justice."

"I was happy to help, Evileye." He said in return, they stood up and shook hands, and Evileye left the house feeling very, very good. She returned to the inn and found the rest of Blue Rose sitting downstairs eating breakfast.

"Join us for breakfast shorty?" Gagaran said in her usual boistrous voice.

"Join you yes, breakfast no, I've already eaten." She said politely.

"Did you learn anything useful?" Lakyus asked?

"I learned a lot, but how useful it will be is another matter. How about yourselves?" Evileye asked in return.

"Rumors mostly, Tia and Tina were able to draw out information from the remaining hunters and trappers without spoiling the cover story put out by the Marquis." Lakyus said, and the twins looked smugly self satisfied. "However the only thing we were able to work out was that all the disappearances happen in the Western and Southern woods, bodies don't turn up, but before people stopped going in there, those who did return say they've found clothing and personal artifacts, they returned with those, but now...nobody goes at all, the way in is close to the Black Justice training grounds, and they've done marriages and other ceremonies out there as well, so the belief that they're responsible somehow is pretty widely held."

"And promoted by the temples. I visited all four of them yesterday during services and spoke to the congregations, there is a lot of hostility there, and the sermons were not what I usually expect out of temples, each service was a two hour long denunciation of the new religion and not much else." Gagaran said. "The people who are devoted to those temples are, for lack of a better way to say this...falling into line."

Lakyus nodded. "I spoke with the priests, they're new to this region, having been dispatched from the larger seminaries to fill the gaps left by the war, and to replace an older priest who went into retirement. But they've been here for awhile now, longer than the duration of the disappearances, and they're zealous about the faith. They see Black Justice in this area as a real threat to the future of this city, but they have stopped short of outright saying that Black Justice is to blame, probably because the disappearances aren't public knowledge yet. All anyone really knows is that they've suffered a downturn and the people who drove this city's prosperity are giving up and leaving them in the lurch. The new religion spends relatively freely, and that helps, but its driving more resentment than anything. People are feeling threatened, that makes this dangerous. Now, what did you learn Evileye?" Lakyus asked.

Evileye was just about to begin speaking, when the screaming started outside, a woman's wailing that was loud enough, terrified enough, horrified enough, to wake the very dead without a spell, rang out through the streets. Blue Rose responded as one, leaping to their feet and charging out the door, already reaching for weapons to strike with, and what they found was a well dressed woman screaming that her child was missing. A crowd had started to form, and...in a better run city, Evileye would have expected the city guard or some patrol to be by to take control of things. This however, was not a well run city.

Lakyus however, was quick to take control. "Ma'am, please calm down, tell us what's happened." Her eyes were filled with concern, and between her gentle eyes, her formidable voice, and the fact that Lakyus and her companions were well armed, it sufficed to allow the woman to speak more slowly and more clearly.

"I-I woke up this morning, got myself ready for the day, and my servant went to wake my daughter, and I heard my servant scream, I rushed into the room and saw why...she wasn't there, the window was open and her clothing that I had ordered laid out for her to wear today wasn't there, my girl...she was GONE!" The woman said, her voice growing more anxious as she came near to hysteria again.

"Stay calm ma'am." Lakyus said, "Tell me, what did she look like, what was she wearing, what is her age? We need to know what we're supposed to look out for."

The woman was breathing rapidly, but she managed to stumble the details out, "She's seven summers old, she has auburn hair, green eyes, her name is Rava. She had a toy with her, a stuffed cat, its gone with her."

Lakyus turned around, "Gagaran, go find one of those worthless guards, give them the information." She turned back to the woman, "What is your name?"

"Cercei." She said, her hands coming together as if in prayer, only to begin wringing desperately and shaking with anxiety.

"Alright Cercei, we're taking you back home, we'll deal with the guards for you, but you need to be where you can be found." Lakyus said firmly. "You can't help her out here, and if she comes home and doesn't find you, then she might wander off again." The woman had begun to object, but at the second statement, she nodded numbly, and lead the remaining members of Blue Rose to a large manor home, a woman servant was pacing at the door, shaking with anxiety, when she saw Cercei approach, she let out a cry and rushed to the woman, weeping sorrowfully and begging for forgiveness for letting her down.

Cercei didn't even seem to notice, Lakyus let the woman go, and the servant drew her gently into the home, briefly thanking Blue Rose, when a man came to the door, he had a long black mustache and fear filled blue eyes, his face was rough and his body had a medium frame that might once have been strong, but had begun to go softer with soft living. He was however, remarkably tall, easily the size of the gargantuan Gagaran, and he had the air of a man used to being considered important, if he wasn't a nobleman, Lakyus was prepared to eat her sword.

When the women were in, he stepped outside. "Thank you for returning my wife." He said, "I am Yamoc, Viscount of Kedyn."

"It was my honor to assist you, I'm Lakyus of Blue Rose." She replied.

"I've heard of you." He said, "Somehow I thought you'd be taller..." He said, then shook his head, dismissing the irrelevant thought, "How can I help?" He asked, "I'll do anything to have my daughter back."

"Without knowing why she was taken, I cannot think of anything. But stay here, if there was a monetary motive, you may receive word of a ransom." She said.

"Thank you, I'll wait then." He said grimly. "Gorli, Gorli!" He called over his shoulder, and a young man in boots and simple peasant dress appeared at the call, "Go put the word out that I will give my daughter's weight in gold for her safe return. That should motivate people to find her." He said, "And if you want to join the search after telling all the criers, then you may do so." He said.

The young man darted off, and then Yamoc thanked Blue Rose again, and when he heard the sound of his wife's crying, he closed the door and walked to tend to her.

"We...need...help." Evileye said as they started to walk away.

"What kind of help?" Lakyus asked dubiously.

"When I was in Foundoton I heard a story, Neia Baraja had gone to a village where a man was going to be executed for murder, she stopped the execution, and to make a long story short, she investigated and found the true guilty party. If she was able to do that, she might be able to help with this." Evileye said vigorously.

Lakyus blinked. "That sounds great, but there are two problems...first we don't know where she is right now, second we have no way to get her here in time for it to matter anyway."

"Yes, we do." Evileye said.

The team froze.

"What?" Lakyus said in confusion.

"I know the priest of Black Justice here. For ordinary things they conduct correspondence through their postal system, but he personally knows the leaders of Black Justice in the capitol, and I know Black Justice temples keep scrolls for spell casting, he can get a message to them immediately asking where Neia is."

Lakyus frowned. "That doesn't get her here, and that doesn't guarantee that she'll help us. Remember what happened last time we met? Her country was torn apart by demons and we refused to help her, why would she help us now?"

Evileye held up a finger, giving Lakyus pause, "Among their scrolls they have some 'instant transportation' spells, they don't have a limitless number of them, but if they know where she is and get a message to her, she can come here immediately."

"But will she?" Lakyus asked.

Evileye looked down. "Given the last time we met...I don't know."

"Boss, it's a shot." Tia and Tina said together.

"We've been wanting to speak to her for awhile now anyway." Tia said.

"And this could be our best chance at doing that for who knows how many weeks, if not months." Tina added.

"Fine." Lakyus said, "I hope to the gods this works. We may be the best adventurers in Re-Estize...but this is different than monster hunting." She said with a sigh.

"Evileye, go to the temple, inform the priest and seek his help, tell him Blue Rose will pay for the use of the scroll if necessary." Lakyus said, "I'm going to go to the Great Hall and meet with the Marquis and inform him about the Viscount's daughter. Tia and Tina, work the underbelly and see if you can find anything out from the criminal element of this city. We'll reconvene in four hours at the inn."

They all nodded in acknowledgement, and set out on their tasks with the swiftness of hurricane winds.

The city was in an uproar before their return to the inn, from concerned citizens to the simply greedy, people were rushing around individually and in groups, it was the most activity Blue Rose had seen since their arrival, and when they Lakyus returned to the inn, she found the priest of Black Justice sitting at the table with Evileye, and a much more on edge Gagaran, Tia, and Tina. Lakyus felt her sword hand twitch, but restrained herself with great effort. "You must be Lakyus. I've heard much about you." The vampire priest stood and held out his hand, Lakyus looked daggers at it for an awkward moment, but did not reach out for it in return, until he lowered it back to his side uncomfortably.

"I don't like this." Lakyus said. "But I trust Evileye with my life, so I'm putting my misgivings aside to work with you, but that does not make it my pleasure to meet you." She said frostily, making the uncomfortable moment, more uncomfortable. He raised an eyebrow, relatively nonplussed.

"Well, you are more or less what I expected...thought you'd be taller though..." He shrugged, "Whatever, its fine, shall we do this here or do we go to your room?"

"My room." Lakyus said, and walked away stiffly up the stairs, the rest of them wordlessly followed, and when the door closed Ulthis pulled out a collection of scrolls from his pack, and one by one he cast the spells necessary for quiet messaging, and soon he was in contact with Robel.

"Robel, my friend, I need your help." Ulthis said.

"Ulthis, so good to hear from you, I'm assuming this must be important if you're reaching out this way...so what do you need?"

"My friend, things are not going well here in Kedyn, tensions are running high and a problem has emerged that will only make things worse if not solved. I need the help of Neia Baraja. Do you know where she is, can you reach out to her?" Ulthis asked.

"I do...she's still with Tinamoc in the Southern Holy Kingdom, the last I heard from her was several days ago, she was in the city of Wenmark, apparently things are very ugly there, are you sure you need her help?" Robel asked with concern.

"I am. I don't know much about Wenmark, but I do know that this city is trouble, and the 'heroes' present are not fit for solving the problem." Ulthis said, giving a stone look at Lakyus, who had the decency to look uncomfortable.

"Heroes? What heroes?" Robel asked.

"Blue Rose. The adamantite adventurer team, they're asking for her help." Ulthis said.

There was silence for a moment.

"I'll reach out to her immediately. Remain where you are." Robel said, and contact was cut off.

"Now we wait." Ulthis said with arms crossed while Lakyus stared daggers at him and Evileye fidgeted uncomfortably.

They did not wait long. A gate opened in the air, and through it stepped two figures. One of them Lakyus knew, one of them she did not. But the one she knew...felt like a stranger.

Neia was wearing her customary visor, but vastly different armor than Lakyus remembered, and wore a bow that Lakyus would have sworn was handed over by a god, but those were minor differences, it was the aura around her that stood out, it drew the eye to her and made people take notice. Lakyus was adept at appraising power by presence, but she got two vastly different impressions from the former squire of the Paladin Order. On the one hand her combat power seemed trivial compared to a legendary adamantite adventurer. But when she took her visor off and met Lakyus's eyes, the power of her presence was above and beyond the norm, as if the small woman took up the entire room.

Lakyus next appraised the woman next to her, a pale girl wearing an unusual weapon and wearing an eye-patch. That one...that one bore a monstrous amount of combat power. Lakyus was uncertain she could fight evenly one on one with the woman.

Gagaran felt much the same, she felt a chill at the deadly looking eyes of Neia Baraja, and the considerable power of the woman beside her was nothing to laugh at.

The twins immediately jumped to a defensive posture when the gate opened, and that did not change when they felt the presence of the two women.

Evileye for her part, seemed to shudder for a moment, but quickly warmed, and filled the momentary gap by approaching Neia with a hand outstretched.

"Neia, thank you for coming." She said from behind her mask.

Neia looked away from Lakyus to Evileye and quickly responded, and her voice bore a warmth considerably different from her very scary face.

It snapped Lakyus out of her momentary sense of surprise, and she stood and did what she should and went to shake Neia's hand.

"I'm happy to help." Neia said, "But there are things that need to be said first."

Lakyus sat down with some trepidation. "Go on."

"The last time I came to you for help, my kingdom was on fire, my people were being eaten, and we were begging you to save us. You chose not to."

Blue Rose had the good grace to look somewhat ashamed. "However," she continued, "you also directed us to the people who could help, who did help, and because of you I found the one true god in this world, had you not done that, my kingdom would not exist. So...while I will not hold a grudge, at the same time I will not do this for nothing." She said simply.

"What do you want?" Lakyus asked curiously.

"I want your help, the next time I ask for it. Regardless of the risk." Neia answered.

Lakyus paused for a moment. "If it does not violate the ethical standards of the adventurer guild, I accept your offer." She answered.

"And the rest of you?" Neia asked.

"Agreed." Evileye said immediately.

"Agreed." Gagaran said with some reluctance.

"Agreed." The twins replied together.

"Alright, I will consider that to be our contract." Neia said, and she relaxed noticeably, then the tension began to run out of the air. "With that out of the way, I suppose introductions are in order." Neia said. "You all know me already, but this," she gestured to the girl beside her, "is my best friend, CZ, she's one of the Sorcerer King's demon maids."

All eyes swept back to CZ, who stepped away from Neia without a sound, walked up to Lakyus, and put a sticker on her stunned cheek saying, "Cute."

Lakyus could only blink. "Were you...with Jaldabaoth?"

"I was." She said.

"By choice?" Gagaran asked.

"No. No choice." CZ replied.

"The Sorcerer King freed her and her sisters from the demon emperor's control, and now she serves him by choice." Neia said.

There were dumbfounded looks on the faces of the adventurers. "I know, its a bit much to take in." Neia said sympathetically.

"Why is she with you?" Tia and Tina asked in unison.

"For my protection." Neia said. "I...got myself into some trouble...so it has been insisted that I travel with some security in case I face a hostile I can't handle on my own."

"You've got a demon maid...as a BODY GUARD?!" Gagaran said in shock.

"Yes. Now, shall we get down to business?" Neia answered, cutting off further inquiry, and Lakyus began to brief her on everything she knew.

"Yes. Now...shouldn't we..." Neia began to say when they heard screaming and shouting outside the inn.

It didn't take but a moment's shared glance before the room emptied and the priest, Blue Rose, Neia, and CZ rushed outside to see what the commotion was.

"What's happened?!" Lakyus asked. "A body! A body has been found with its blood drained! Its at the edge of the Black Justice training field!" Someone shouted.

Lakyus whirled to the person who spoke, "Has it been moved?!" She demanded to know.

"No, a guard found it, the guards have gone to find the parents to see if its her." The man said.

"We need to get there...NOW." Neia said.

"I can show you where it is. The rest of you will have to follow." The priest said.

"CZ?" Neia said.

"Go it." She said flatly, and Neia climbed onto CZ's back, while she picked up the suddenly surprised priest and put him on her shoulder. "Which way?" CZ asked the priest.

He pointed towards the wall. "Um...over that wall." He said.

"OK." CZ replied, and she dashed, jumped, and in a few giant leaps was over the wall, leaving Blue Rose behind, stunned.

"Demon maids." Evileye said.

"Yeah." The twins said.

Lakyus shook her head, "Lets take the long way, but we're not going to take our time, MOVE." She snapped, and they broke into a run.

When they arrived on the scene, Neia was talking to the guard who found the child, and as she finished her exchange, he moved away, seemingly returning to the gate.

The city had a lot of noise behind them, but not enough to interfere at this distance.

As Lakyus approached, Neia began to move away and look over the body. When she stood over Neia's shoulder, Neia asked without looking back at her. "This the girl?" She asked sadly.

"I think so." Lakyus said, she was about seven, wearing night clothes, and had the same hair and eyes.

"Shit." Neia said, as the rest of Blue Rose walked over.

Lakyus turned to her team. "Its her."

An oppressive sadness swept over them.

"The blood has been drained." Neia said.

"Vampire!" Lakyus snapped. "It had to be."

Neia shook her head. "No. Not a chance."

Lakyus wasn't listening. "You did this." She hissed at Ulthis. "You did this didn't you?" She asked.

He turned to her, confused at first, then surprised as she began to draw her sword.

Evileye got in front of him and came close to the advancing Lakyus, "Lakyus he did NOT do this!"

Ulthis staggered back, "I didn't, I'm innocent!" he said firmly.

"He's a vampire, of course he did this, this is what they do!" She snapped and tried to push past her, only for the stunned Gagaran and twins rush to assist Evileye.

"He didn't!" Evileye said, and drew back her hand, and slapped Lakyus hard across the face, sending the woman spinning backwards. "He was with me, all night long, he COULDN'T have done this! He DIDN'T do this!" Evileye said.

"Just because he's a vampire, that doesn't mean he's guilty of everything bad that happens!" Evileye snapped.

Lakyus shook off the others in shock and brought her hand to her cheek, eyes filled with shock and with no small amount of hurt. "Get a hold of yourself!" Evileye snapped. "Not everything nonhuman is evil!"

Neia and CZ were watching these events passively, but Neia chose that moment to interrupt. "If you'd bother to listen to me, as I was saying, he did not do this." Neia said calmly, repeating what she'd said before.

"Lakyus, focus!" Neia said sharply, drawing the stunned blonde woman's eyes to her.

"How many vampires have you killed over the years?" Neia asked.

"Many." She said sharply, "Maybe one more to come."

"Eyes on me Lakyus!" Neia said, "I need your knowledge."

"How many of their victims have you seen?" She asked the leader of Blue Rose.

"Also many." Lakyus replied.

"And the rest of you?" Neia asked.

All four affirmed the same answer.

"In all the victims you've ever seen..." Neia said, "have you ever seen one where the throat was cut?"

That gave them a collective moment of hesitation.

"What was the weather last night?" Neia asked. "Was it warm?"

"Yes, just a bit." Tia said.

"This body is cold, she's been dead for hours, probably killed very soon after she was taken, she was killed by slashing her throat." Neia said. "I may not have fought as many vampires as you have, but I don't know any who treat their food this way. They may do a lot of things, but the best places to bite are on the arms, inner thigh, wrists, and neck. There are no marks on those places indicating a bite, and her throat was slashed. A vampire wouldn't need to slash her throat because she'd die from being drained. So...it wasn't a vampire."

Lakyus had calmed herself considerably.

"I'm...sorry...everyone." Lakyus bowed her head, "I...that..." she gestured to the girl.

"I get it." Neia said.

"Forgiven." Ulthis said, but kept his distance from her.

Evileye's mask had hidden tears behind it, but behind her tears, there was a resolution from which she would not retreat. She looked over at Lakyus. "When this is done, we need to talk." Her gaze went to the rest of the team, "All of us."

There were mute nods of acceptance, but Neia was paying no attention to it.

"There is no blood here. This isn't where she died." She said. "She was dumped here." The noise from the city had continued to rise as she spoke.

"Violence." CZ said.

"What...where?" Lakyus asked.

CZ pointed back to the city. "Riot."

"How..." Gagaran began.

"Heard it." CZ said flatly.

Neia began cursing. "I'm beginning to see what the problem is." She said sardonically. "CZ, Ulthis, guard the body, we can handle this."

CZ gave a very small frown. "No."

Neia rolled her eyes. "CZ..."

CZ shook her head again. "I guard the cute." She said, and put a sticker on Neia's cheek, prompting an exhasperated but warm smile. "Fine. Ulthis, just don't let anybody disturb the space or the body until we get back."

"On her life." Ulthis said softly.

Evileye envied the pair.

They raced back to the city to find a riot in full swing, all the rumors had said was that the body of a girl had been found drained of blood in the Black Justice training grounds, and that was enough...with a little egging on by the priests, to convince the people to riot to tear the temple down. The city guard had divided views, with the regular city guard joining the rioters, while the rest of the city guard that was made up of Black Justice members took up defensive positions. The common members of the temple benefited from their custom of remaining armed, and many of them had swords or spears with which they had ample practice, and they fought back.

The scene that presented itself to the company was one of utter chaos, some Black Justice members had obviously been caught by surprise and lynched, their bodies were being dragged along the ground, while others had time to resist and were fighting tooth and nail, despite being outnumbered. "What do you propose to do?!" Lakyus shouted to Neia.

For that, Neia turned to CZ. "Scare them."

The world exploded in the faces of Blue Rose, or seemed to, a storm of killing intent leapt up from the demon maid, it leapt out like ice and pierced flesh and hearts for a moment, froze as if afraid to beat for fear of attracting the eyes of the source of the violent killing hunger, it blew at courage like wind over sand, and except for the hardened team, the effect was immediate, the courage of rage became fear, and people broke into a run, many of them remaining sensible enough to find hiding places, but it gave Neia the opportunity she needed. With practiced ease CZ tossed Neia up to a roof, and that gave Blue Rose their next surprise, the power of the evangelist.

"You people of Kedyn, lend me your ears. I bear news of the dead! It is true that a child was found, and where, however it was no vampire among you who did this! It was a madman, consumed by evil, and I vow to you we will find them! I have with me the legendary adamantite team of Blue Rose, they have vowed to hunt down the true killer, so that this child can be honored by a proper burial! Will you DISGRACE HER by killing and creating new victims?! Will you shame your children by leaving more parents to mourn?! Put down your arms, and let TRUE JUSTICE carry the day by punishing the GUILTY! Who else must be punished other than the GUILTY?!"

"We know who did this!" Someone shouted.

"Do you?!" Neia asked loudly, "Were you there, did you see the killing and do nothing?!"

"N-No I..." He began.

"Then you know nothing!" She snapped.

"We WILL find the killer, and the guilty WILL SUFFER! I swear on your city! We will not rest, we will not sleep, we will not eat until the killer stands before you ready to pay for their crimes!" She shouted.

"Who wishes the guilty to be punished?!" She called out.

There were cheers.

"Shout it to god, let god here your call for justice! True justice! Not the random killing of a mad dog! Say it! Compel the earth itself to move with your call!"

"Justice! Justice! Justice! Justice! Justice!" The rage had turned to single purpose, the call rang from alley to street, and shook the Great Hall itself as if it were to batter down the door of the Marquis with the sound alone.

"I will give you justice! God will give you justice! She will not have died for nothing, but to rid EVIL FROM YOUR STREETS! If you will have justice, then I will have your peace! Aid us when we come to you, aid Blue Rose, heroes of the people, we need your strength, but to use your strength we need your peace! Lay down your arms, go back to your homes, and let no one else mourn today, until it comes time to mourn together!" She shouted out.

It had a profound effect, and Neia jumped lightly down from the roof to a set of crates, and then twice more back down to the ground.

"Where...did you learn how to do that?" Gagaran asked.

"In death, I guess." Neia answered, "Well that and lots of practice." She said.

The breathing room allowed the guards to restore order, and the band returned to the body.

Lakyus watched intently as Neia worked. "Vampires have the ability to charm people into obedience. But this girl wasn't charmed." Neia said.

"How do you know?" Tina asked.

"She fought. Several of her nails are broken and her lip is cut open, someone slapped her or worse." Neia said.

"How do you know her nails were not just like that already?" Lakyus asked.

Neia held up a hand, "Some of them arent, she's a nobleman's child, they're meticulous about grooming, no way she would have a few grown out and a few broken." She stood up and turned to the group.

"There are only five possibilities to start with..." Neia said and began ticking them off on her fingers.

First, she left on her own. Second, she was lured out by someone she knew. Third, she was lured out by someone she did not know. Fourth, she was taken by someone against her will. Fifth, she was taken away by something else, for example a werewolf, vampire, and so on."

"But you said it wasn't a vampire." Lakyus said.

"Correct." Neia said. "So we've eliminated the fifth possibility, a Necromancer would have a use for the body, but she hasn't been turned. A werewolf would have eaten her, a vampire would have drained her, and she's been killed quickly with minimal violence somewhere else, then dumped here."

"That means she either left on her own and this was just chance encounter with the wrong person, or she was lured to go out with a known person or a stranger, or she was taken against her will. I need to see her home." Neia said.

"Ulthis, stay with the body."

"Can you take us to the family home?" Neia asked Lakyus.

"We can." Lakyus said.

"Then lets go, the riot didn't really get a chance to start, but there is no certainty this peace will last, especially if the priests are trying to get it going again." Neia said.

As they walked, Neia continued to speak, "There are only a few reasons for someone to take a child. We can eliminate the motives of heteromorphs because no heteromorph did this. That leaves the following: The first is a ransom, she's from a wealthy family, but if ransom was the motive then there is no reason to leave the body where it will readily be found. Nor is there a reason to drain the blood first and dump the body elsewhere. The second reason is revenge, nobles have enemies, but if that were the motive then the draining of the blood first makes no sense, why bother with that? Simply put her down and dump her where she lay. The third is simple barbarism, violence for fun," Lakyus and the rest of her team looked sick, "I know, I feel the same way," Neia said at their expressions, "but if that was the case, why make it quick, she suffered one quick slash somewhere else and then dump the body, when somebody does something like this for fun, they usually enjoy much more brutality, so I don't think that was a motive. I think the killer had another motive. Furthermore, the body was dumped well outside the city, but where it would definitely be found, that took time, forethought, I think they wanted to frame Black Justice." Neia said grimly.

"NO!" Lakyus snapped.

"Why not?" Neia asked.

"Because..." She began, and failed to think of an answer and went quiet.

They arrived at the house of the Viscount, and heard sobbing inside, somebody had delivered the news. "You know them, you knock." Neia said to Lakyus, and grimly, the adamantite adventurer knocked on the door.

A pale and sad faced servant boy answered the door, and Lakyus asked for the Viscount and his wife.

"They're in mournin miss, not seein anyone." The boy said.

"That is what I'm here about." Lakyus said.

The boy reluctantly let them in, and went to get the Viscount, he came to the door at the boy's behest and when he saw who it was, he snaped out, "Any more false promises?!"

Lakyus bowed her head. "I'm sorry, we tried, but we couldn't..." she paused, "all we can do is find her killer."

"May you have better luck." He said with a mix of dejection and anger.

"We have someone who may be able to help." She said, and Neia stepped out from the group.

"How can you help?" He asked doubtfully.

"Easier to show you than to explain." She said, "Please, take me to your daughter's room, and please have your wife join us." Neia said, and a few moments later she found herself in the dead girl's quarters. She began to pace the room and look around, then walked out the door, looked around, and came back in. From where Blue Rose stood, not to mention the Viscount, it seemed absurdly strange. After a short period of pacing, Neia approached the open window. It was roughly at the height of her head, and it allowed her to see out into a small grassy area by the house.

Neia turned to the assembly, "I need you all to do exactly as I say for a little while. Understood?"

There were nods of agreement from those present, and then Neia asked the mother, "Is this window left open at night?"

The woman shook her head. "No."

"Was it open when you realized she was gone this morning?" Neia asked.

She thought for a moment, "Yes."

"When it is closed, do you have it kept locked?" Neia asked.

"Yes." She said.

"OK, first we have to eliminate a possibility. Evileye, I want you to go to your knees below the window, and I want you to try to get up to it without using any extraordinary abilities. That should put you about the same height as the little girl." Neia said, and with some hesitation, Evileye approached the place in the wall went to her knees, and tried to reach up, after several attempts, she could only get up enough to touch the bottom of the window.

"We have now eliminated another possibility." Neia said. "There is no way that child opened that window and climbed out on her own. Even if it were left open, she simply could not reach unassisted. Even if she used a chair or something to climb up, well...who put it back? Something like that should still be here at the window." Neia concluded.

She took out a short dagger, "Lakyus, go outside and look for impressions at the window and then tell us what you see, and take this." She said, handing her the dagger.

Lakyus went out the door and around to the side of the house. "What do you see?" Neia asked.

"A pair of footprints." Lakyus said.

"Are they deep, large, small?" Neia asked.

"They're large." Lakyus replied.

"And deep?" Neia asked.

"Considerably." Lakyus said.

"Very good, I'll come out in a moment, but first take out the dagger." Neia said, and then closed and latched the window.

"Try to get the window open." Neia said.

Lakyus took the dagger and slid it between the two shutters, it fit easily enough, but then there was a problem, as she tried to lift the latch, she found that the clasp holding closed was stuck, it required ample force and made a fair amount of noise. Neia closed the shutters again, resecured the window, then lifted it up from her side with total silence. "Do it again Lakyus." Neia said.

Again Lakyus tried to force it open with a dagger from the other side, but the wood was so tight and the latch so tight, that again it made considerable noise. Neia frowned and closed it again.

"Evileye, go lay on the bed, plug your ears, and my lord, would you close the door to her room and stand in the hallway, and my lady, would you return to your room and close your door. Return when you hear the noise or I call for you." She said.

Though confused, they obeyed, and Neia signaled for Lakyus to 'break in' again. And again breaking in took a fair amount of effort and made considerable noise as the shutters popped open with enough force that they hit the wall.

"Evileye, did you hear that?" Neia asked?

"I did." Evileye replied.

A moment later the door opened and both the Viscount and his wife entered the room. "What is the point of all this?!" The nobleman snapped.

"Its this." Neia said, and she closed the shutters, latched them, and then opened them again from the inside with minimal effort, no notable noise, and caught the shutters before they could fly open and risk making a racket.

"If the person breaking in had to pry his way in, the noise would have awakened your daughter, and possibly yourselves, even if they didn't wake you up, the noise should have frightened them off." Neia said. "Wait here." She said, and she walked out of the house and around to where Lakyus was standing, and she looked down at the impressions. She knelt down to them while a confused Lakyus looked on. "He was wearing armor. Plate. Nothing cheap." Neia said.

"How can you..." Lakyus began.

"Step away and look at yours next to his." Neia said. They were smaller, much more shallow.

"His feet aren't that big for his prints to be that deep, either he was a demihuman with human feet, or he was a human in full armor." Neia said.

Lakyus went quiet and followed Neia back to the child's bedroom.

"Now, m'lord, would you please try to climb in to the open window?" Neia asked.

The Viscount looked confused, but keeping his promise, he went around to the window, and climbed through with relative ease. "Now, Gagaran, try to do the same thing, keep your armor on, and be as quiet as you can. But before you come in, stand next to the impressions under the window for a few minutes, we'll wait." Neia said.

Gagaran went around to the window, and after a few minutes Neia asked her, "How deep are your impressions on the grass compared to those directly at the window?"

"About the same." Gagaran said.

"I thought so." Neia said.

"Now, try to climb in quietly." Gagaran began to climb through, but the armor made a horrible racket. "Anyone doubt THAT wouldn't have been heard?" Neia asked as she put her back to Gagaran and gestured over her shoulder with her fist closed and thumb out.

"OK so I know a few things." Neia said.

"I know it was a man in full plate armor who knew where the child's room was and how to get her. He knew the window would be open, when it would be, and he waited out there for several minutes, and what is more, I know somebody inside the house was helping him."

The shouts of "What?!" Could have deafened the gods.

"Someone made sure that window was open." Neia said, and someone handed the child to the person outside, someone the child knew, someone the child trusted. I need to question everyone in the house."

**AN: Well this story will be 'slightly' longer than the 10 I had originally planned, so I hope you're happy about that. And the length of this chapter, of course if you like it, leave a review and tell me what you like, if you didn't, tell me what you didn't like. And if you just want to tell me I'm a fucking genius, well also fine. ;) Incidentally, there was a hint in there about who the insider was. Not saying anything more, you want to find out, you'll have to wait until tomorrow.**


	10. Justice is Served

The Viscount and his wife, beside themselves with grief a moment ago, fell into a state of shock augmented by incalculable rage.

"Keep yourself under control my lord." Lakyus said, "You do not want to tip our hand."

He forced himself to breath slowly and deeply, calming his temper. "Where would you like to question them?" He asked.

"Here is fine." Neia said, "But I'd like to have something of hers to put out, something to tug at their conscience a little, do you have a toy of hers, or some clothing she liked, something to tickle some memories? I doubt whoever played their part from inside the house intended for her to die, so anything we can do to shake them up is good."

"Yes, I ordered her favorite clothing laid out for her, its..." Rava's mother turned as if to point it out, only to stop, looking confused, and then to walk to her child's wardrobe and open it. She pulled it out from where it hung and laid it on Rava's bed gently, as if not wanting to wrinkle it, as if it would be worn again soon.

Neia froze. "Why did you turn over there?" She asked, gesturing to the table.

"Because it should have already been there." Cercei replied

"Why?" Neia asked. "Because I had ordered her attendant to set it out for her." She replied.

"Does she have access to this room?" Neia asked.

"Yes..." She replied with a sinking feeling of dread.

"I want to talk to her FIRST." Neia said. She turned to Gagaran. "Gagaran, I want you to go outside the house, make sure you're not seen, after I've spoken with the woman for a few minutes, come in the front door, come into this room, and call me over, then pretend to whisper to me." Gagaran looked mystified, but followed her directions.

"You will have her NOW." The Viscount said, and he exited the room, a few minutes later, a trembling woman came into the room. Neia gestured to a chair which she placed near Rava's bed.

"What's your name?" Neia said sweetly.

"Alyra." The woman said wringing her hands.

"Alyra, I know you heard the rumors...about Rava being dead." Neia reached out and touched her arm. The girl wept.

"Well there is good news, you know how rumors go...she's not dead." Neia said.

The girl's eyes widened. "She was found in the Black Justice training ground, but she's alive, barely."

"Is she...going to be OK?" Alyra asked.

"We'll know when she regains consciousness." Neia said softly, "Should be a few hours."

Neia stood up and walked over to the place where the clothing for Rava had been laid out. SHe touched it gently, "This is very beautiful." Neia said gently. "I see its been mended a few times." She said. "Did you do that?"

Alyra nodded, her eyes were welling up. Neia looked closely, "This is very fine work, almost undetectable modifications. Was this Rava's favorite?" Neia asked.

Alyra nodded again, "She loves that one."

"Have you always been with her?" Neia asked.

"Y-Yes, I've taken care of her since she was born." Alyra said.

"Wow, long hours, lot of commitment, you must be close, even if you are a servant." Neia said.

"I saw her like my own...my own...my little girl..." Alyra said wistfully.

"You did everything for her, all the time." Neia said.

Alyra nodded. "So...I wonder...why this was still put away last night? I understand you were told to put it out for her." Neia asked.

Alyra froze. "I wonder...could it be you knew she wouldn't be wearing it today?" Neia asked further.

Alyra opened and closed her mouth several times. Then Gagaran knocked at the door and motioned for Neia.

Neia approached, and Gagaran whispered to her, Neia pretended to listen intently, and then the door closed. Neia turned around to look at Alyra. "Its Rava. She's awake. Do you want to know what she said?" Neia asked, looking grave.

Alyra broke down crying. "Whose idea was it?" Neia asked. "What did they offer you?" She probed further.

"I...they...he..." She began to say, and then she froze for a moment, and a look of madness overtook Alyra, her eyes went wide and glassy, like she was no longer looking at anyone, and her face took on a deviant smile. Her voice was clear, but haunting, like a ghost gained flesh and given voice, "Said she'd be mine...I took care of her, I took care of her, I took care of her, she called me mommy sometimes, I deserved her, I should have had her, so he helped me, he came to me and said someone great knew I deserved her most of all, and would make sure I had her if I did what he said."

Chills went down Neia's back, down everyone's back, but still she pressed. "Who was he? You know he tried to hurt her? That much is true, he tried to hurt your little girl, little Rava who loves you, who you were going to have, he tried to hurt your girl, are you going to let him get away with that?" Neia asked, leaning close. Alyra's face showed raw fury..."I'll kill him, I'll kill him, I'll kill everyone who hurts my Rava..."

"Who is 'him' Alyra?" Neia asked.

"Segasta...he's a guard at the Great Hall, I used to lie with him, I told him all about Rava, that she could be our child some day, then he came to me, said a great person promised it could be, that we could go far away. Far away with my Rava...and be a family..." Her face became a tranquil one and the glass eyed look became whistful, and Neia stood up and sighed.

"Well...now what?" She asked Lakyus.

"Well, we seize Segasta, but I want to know who this great one is."

"Could she be completely mad? You know, just imagining things?" Gagaran asked.

"Those foot prints out there aren't imaginary, and someone lifted her through that window, if I were to guess how things went," Neia began, "Someone had it out for the Viscount and his family, as well as Black Justice, and thought they could kill two birds with one stone. Make him suffer and make Black Justice a target, whoever it was knew Segasta well enough that he learned of Segasta's tryst with the woman, maybe her obsession with the girl, and paid him to go along with it. He promised he'd get the girl out, and then when it was safe, Alyra could leave, take the girl, and go have a life somewhere, but he never intended on doing that. Rava went along because Alyra said to, when she got scared, she fought back, and he took her somewhere and cut her throat the way he planned to, then drained her blood and took her body to where it would be found and Black Justice would be blamed."

"Ohh...shit." Blue Rose said in unison.

"The only question is...who would know someone who has it in for Black Justice, the Viscount, and would know of Segasta's behavior well enough to use him to pull it off?" Neia asked. "Can you keep her here, I want to talk to the Viscount and his wife?" Neia asked.

"We will." Tia and Tina said, and slowly drew out their Kunai, each thinking how much they'd like to stab the madness out of Alyra's eyes...and incidentally, they had each picked out an eye.

When Neia went down the hall, she found the parents pacing back and forth, the Viscount went up to her and said, "Well...?" with a heartbroken voice.

"Can we speak privately?" Neia asked.

He gestured to their bedroom. Neia entered and Viscount Yamoc closed the door. "Lady Cercei, lord Yamoc...who holds a grudge against you both?" Neia asked.

They looked baffled. "Do you know a guard named Segasta?" Neia asked.

The Viscount nodded. "I do, by name and face, but not well." He said. "He's a guard in the great hall, he works for the Marquis."

"And...how exactly does the Marquis feel about your house?" Neia asked.

The Viscount and his wife shared a grim look. "Not good." He said. "He blames me for a great many things. For example, I have a special cadre of hunters and trappers that work exclusively for me, and I own a part of the woods in the North of the city, so my hunters and trappers work exclusively there. The Marquis had allowed me to have it because it was not the best of lands, but when the troubles began he said he intended to have my lands opened up for general use. I refused unless I was properly compensated for the losses I would take, he refused. He threatened to revoke my title, I promised to take it to the King as well as to report his failure to deal with the disappearances and see who lost their noble title then..."

As he spoke, their expressions changed, and Cercei collapsed to the floor, her face a mask of tears and she began to sob uncontrollably.

Neia's face was stone, silent as the grave.

Viscount Yamoc's face was red as Jaldabaoth's fire, and he screamed, "I'll kill him! I'll kill him! I'll cut off his head an inch at a time starting at his feet!"

He began to move for the door when Neia reached out and stopped him with a palm to the chest. "Wait! There's more." She said, and that froze the Viscount and his wife looked up with an expression that said..."How could there be more?"

"Alyra was the one who opened the window. She is the one who handed Rava off to the killer. She became, at some point, obsessed with your daughter, seeing her as her own. She was hoping to steal the little girl away, and raise her with her former lover." Neia said.

"Segasta..." The Viscount said.

"Correct. She didn't know that the little girl would be killed, I'm certain of that, and to tell you the truth, I don't think she was meant to live this long. The body was placed on the edge of Black Justice training grounds, I think what was meant to happen was for her to go 'looking' for her the girl, and from her perspective, she thought she'd rendezvous and go off and live happily ever after, with her assumed to have just been one more disappearance. I think what Segasta intended was for her to meet in the woods, kill her, dispose of her body, and then she'd just be 'one more disappearance'." Neia's tone remained clinical as she spoke.

"However the body was discovered earlier than planned, before she could leave, and the riots forced her to stay here, and...you know the rest." Neia said.

The Viscount's face was stunned. "Who...exactly are you?" He asked.

"I'm Neia Baraja. Squire of the Sorcerer King, the Pope and founder of Black Justice." She said.

"Where did you learn to do all that?" He asked.

"I went to Nazarick, and was given the lost wisdom in the Library of Ashurbanipal. The material about a man named 'Sherlock Holmes' was especially helpful. Everything that is, is so for a reason, it need only be studied and compared to find the answers." Neia replied.

"Black Justice..." He said. "I promise you this Neia Baraja...when my Rava is given justice, her body buried, and the last day of our mourning period has ended, I will forever be a patron of your temple, assuming my wife approves." He said, and he reached down with one hand, and helped Cercei to her feet, and she leaned against her husband, who in that moment looked more like the man he must have been in his youth.

Cercei nodded vigorously, "For as long as we both shall live." She said, "But first...justice and revenge, then burial and mourning. Then for as long as we live, we'll not forget this." She said, her face a mask of hatred.

"I won't hold you to that." Neia said. "I will leave it to you to hold yourselves to it."

"Now the question remains...what to do with Alyra?" Neia asked.

"Flay her." The Viscount said.

"Burn her." His wife replied.

"Oh...to get her confession, I lied to her, she thinks your daughter is still alive. She's deep in her madness, her obsession, if you truly wish to make her suffer, then tell her the truth, after that, she'll spend the rest of her life torturing herself." Neia answered.

"Its not enough." The couple said.

"What would be?" Neia asked.

"Nothing." They answered in return.

"Then this will be a start, though I suppose I could ask that she be punished in Nazarick. The Sorcerer King reviles child killers, I have no doubt that the eternal King can find a use for her." Neia said.

"We'll wait for now..." They said, "First get the rest of them." The couple said.

"We will." Neia said, and returned to the room with Alyra, CZ, and Blue Rose, and she found Alyra unconscious.

"She trouble?" Neia asked, pointing at Alyra's unconscious form.

"Not now." The twins replied. Neia shrugged it off indifferently.

"Its almost certainly the Marquis pulling the strings." Neia said. "Does he have anything against Black Justice?" She asked.

"A lot actually." Lakyus said, "He blames you...them, for the disappearances and for the economic decline of the city."

"Blaming others seems to be something he's in the habit of doing." Neia said flatly. "He blames the Viscount Yamoc as well, since Yamoc wouldn't cede some of his lands to public use to supplement the city revenues."

"So what do we do?" Neia said. "He's a Marquis, which doesn't stop him from bleeding to death, but that is just revenge, its not justice unless everybody knows what he did, and I'd rather get both if I can. But who can put him on trial?"

Evileye had a vicious expression on her face behind her mask. "I have an idea, assuming Ulthis is willing to help."

"I'm all ears." Neia said.

There were grins all around as the plan was explained. "I'm not without my doubts about this, I don't like the idea of trusting a vampire to do anything decent. But I have no better ideas...and if it works..." Her grin was savage. Behind her, Evileye flinched at what Lakyus had said, but held her tongue.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Lakyus approached the throne and knelt before the Marquis. "My lord, as you no doubt know the full details of the riot and its cause, you should also be the first to know, we have found the culprit responsible." She said.

The Marquis looked shocked. He did not have a good poker face.

"It was a mad woman, we believe she acted alone, but with tensions in the city high, we thought it best to have her tried publicly before she is sentenced, and because Black Justice was accused, I wanted a priest of the old temples to act as the speakers, and a priest of the new temple to act as the judge, and all those present at the trial to act as jurors, with guilt being decided by a 2/3 majority. Also, to show a moment of solidarity in the face of this terrible crime. Moreover because the family is always the first to be thought guilty, and tensions are...very high, we thought it best if you offered some public testimony as to Yamoc's character, nothing to serious, merely a Marquis addressing his people in the way a true noble should." Lakyus said, laying it on quite thick.

The shock faded and turned into preening as the pride of the Marquis was stroked.

"I will speak." He deigned to say as if granting great favor. "Thank you, your majesty." Lakyus replied.

"Will you ask your people to inform the criers? Also, I think it best you have your personal guards on hand to secure your person, in this hour of solidarity under your rule, nothing should be allowed to happen to you." Added.

"That is very wise." The Marquis Ysude said in response. "I will be well guarded." He said.

It did not take long to organize a trial, with tensions running high, word spread like wildfire through dry brush in high summer. It was to large for a trial in a common court, so the following day the amphitheater of the city was chosen as the venue, and much of the city was in attendance. An hour before it was to begin, Neia approached Alyra in her confinement, and Rava's parents stood quietly in the hallway out of sight. The woman had settled down much, she even seemed normal. "Hello Alyra." Neia said. "Do you know why you're here."

"I do." She replied. "For my part in taking Alyra, I know what I did was wrong, but before you send me to my sentence, you have to let me see Rava, I have to tell her how sorry I am that she was hurt. I didn't mean for that to happen." The woman looked genuinely penitent, and her head hung down depressed. Neia let the moment extend until Alyra looked up at her.

"Apologize to her?" Neia asked. "Has no one told you?"

"Told me what...told me what?!" Alyra asked frantically.

"Rava died. Segasta's cut to her throat was fatal. She couldn't hear your apology even if she wanted to. For what its worth, I'm sorry." Neia said softly.

The effect was immediate. Alyra started screaming and she leaped from where she sat, straight against the bars with a violent clang that should have hurt, but she showed no sign of pain as she reached desperately through the bars to the out of reach Neia. "No! No! NO! You're lying, you have to be lying! Segasta promised me we'd be a family! That I could...could..." She trailed off and Neia interjected.

"Segasta lied to you. He never intended to keep that promise, he used his connection to you, to get to her, he planned to cut her throat from the beginning. You handed him the girl you loved, just so he could bleed her dry." Neia said. "How do you feel about Segasta now?" She asked.

Alyra began to froth madly at the mouth, vowing to bleed him dry, she was over the edge.

"Do you want to see him punished for hurting Rava?" Neia asked.

"Yes!" She said.

"Will you do as I say to make that happen?" Neia asked.

"Yes!" Alyra said again.

"Then can you conceal yourself as you are now, can you 'pretend' like you always do when you were hiding your true feelings?" Neia asked.

Alyra sat back as if her temper had never been let loose, she closed her eyes, and opened them again, appearing...normal, disturbingly so, after she wiped the spittle from her face.

"Good." Neia said, concealing her shock at the transformation. "Then when you come up, just answer what you're asked, indicate Segasta, and we will do the rest." Neia said.

Alyra gave her twisted smile, which in turn gave Neia a shudder, and she walked out into the hallway to Rava's parents. "Satisfied?" She asked them.

"When she's dangling from a rope, we will be." The Viscount said, and Cercei pressed herself more closely into his embrace.

"Then its time to set the stage." Neia said, and she went to find Ulthis, who was outside the door where the Marquis was preparing.

"Where are his guards?" Neia asked.

"I bribed them." Ulthis said simply. "Turns out that when you sell positions of honor, like that of personal guard, people don't feel very honored to have them, are not very brave, and usually are very greedy. Plus, as it turns out, they don't much like him either. So I promised the two of them enough money to retire, and they took it. A good buy from where I'm standing." Ulthis gave a predator grin that revealed his fangs to Neia, who took off her visor and looked him in his eyes, giving him a shudder. "Well done." She said, "Go get him, Alyra is primed, but we need Ysude to be ready to give himself away as well." She said.

Neia stepped away, and watched as Ulthis knocked at the door. "What is it?" The Marquis Ysude snapped.

"My lord, there is a message for you." Ulthis said.

The Marquis Ysude did not answer right away, for a brief moment he indulged in the fantasy of what he'd do on the stage when meant to speak well of Yamoc, he'd instead express his revulsion, the contempt, he'd call him every filthy thing and assert his indulgence in every filthy vice, with any luck by the time he was done, they'd think he was party to his daughter's death. It was a pleasant thought, probably not likely, but a pleasant thought nonetheless. He sighed and said, "Come in."

And in walked Ulthis, who immediately closed the door and pulled out a scroll. He used it before the Marquis could even ask what it said. "When called, you will go out of this room, you will tell the truth, all the truth, and nothing but the truth, you will hold nothing back, no matter what you are asked. You will show who you really are, in all your character."

The Marquis Ysude's eyes went wide with terror. "No..." He whispered softly, and his terror intensified when Ulthis said, "Dispel illusion." and the brown eyes turned blood red. Ulthis approached, and the Marquis tried to call for his guards, but only Neia came around the corner.

"Your guards are gone. Turns out you can't buy loyalty." She said with a smile that was almost warm. "By the time you've finished hanging yourself in public, they'll be half way to their dream city to live out their lives in retirement. I don't much care for betrayers...but you deserve it enough that I'll let that go this time."

"Who are you! I know you! You were with Lakyus...help me and I'll reward you!" He said desperately.

Neia's smile grew bigger. "Who am I?" She asked. "I'm no one and nobody." She said. "Sorry Ulthis, please, continue." She said politely.

"No...no..." Ysude said, looking in terror from one to the other as Ulthis took Ysude's face in hand, his vampire claws digging in sharply enough to hurt, but not quite enough to break the skin.

"Look into my eyes..." Ulthis said, and the count's face went blank, "You will forget what we look like and what we said to you, if anyone asks you who is compelling you to speak, you will identify her by name and only by name. When the door closes and we are gone, you will be able to act on your own again, but not disobey."

"Yes...yes..." the nobleman said, and Ulthis let go, both he and Neia then simply walked out of the room and closed the door.

Though he could not remember everything, the feeling of terror hadn't gone away, and it still didn't fade as he tried to understand the way his body felt, and it still hadn't faded by the time Lakyus came to call him outside, he tried to stop his feet, but still they carried him inexortably forward. He tried to stop his hand, but still it reached for the knob, and still it turned and he walked out. Inside his head he was screaming at his feet to stop moving, but they didn't. Eventually he found himself in front of most of the city, while at the back of the stage there sat a judge at a bench, and at the front of the stage were two priests of the old religion, each priest wore their customary garb, the black clothing of Ulthis at the judge's bench was given disapproving looks from both of the white robed priests of the old gods, but for now at least in name, they were united.

It took some time to begin as black and white stones for guilt or innocence were passed among the many attendees, even the guards responsible for protecting the Marquis were handed stones for voting.

As that was being done, each speaker made their opening statement, while the prosecutor argued that the accused was guilty by malice, the defender argued she was innocent by madness, one argued for death, the other for confinement. The judge however, having asked for the unusual step of including their ruler's testimony to allay any doubt about the involvement of father or mother in the death of their child, was to give a character statement about Yamoc and his household, and so chose to lead with the Marquis before the speakers could call witnesses.

Ulthis looked down at the Marquis Ysude, "You are here to make a statement only, because you are not involved in the death of Rava, child of house Yamoc, is that correct?"

He fought the parting of his lips, but they were not his to control. "Oh no, I was involved."

You could have heard a pin drop.

"Wait...what do you mean you were involved?" Ulthis asked, pretending confusion.

"I ordered her death." Ysude said aloud, screaming inside his head for his mouth to stop moving.

Mouths fell open from one end of the amphitheater to the other.

"Why?" Ulthis asked in horror.

"She deserved it, she was born the daughter of an enemy, and the stupid laws that confined me, ME, the very ruler of this city, were in the way, so I had to do this to exterminate his house, depriving it of a lineage." He said.

"It is your right to kill children?" Ulthis asked...

"Of course, all those people out there belong to me, all of them, they exist for my service, her life was mine to take." He said with his voice filled with arrogance.

"So you killed her yourself?" Ulthis asked.

"No, Segasta did, used the bitch he used to fuck, she's almost completely mad, got her to think he'd run away with her and Yamoc's little bitchling and have a family, that she'd get to be a mommy to the girl, the way he told it to me, she handed the Rava out the window and Rava was stupid enough to just go along because her beloved 'big sis' told her. Said she got a little scared though, and he had to kill her early to keep her from screaming when she started to struggle, ironically, he did it at the butcher shop." Ysude said with a laugh.

"Were the priests involved, or any of the temples?" Ulthis asked.

Ysude laughed, "Of course not, but I knew I could count on the priests of the four to stoke the flames of anger when the little bitchling's corpse turned up in the Black Justice training grounds. Segasta was supposed to puncture her neck, but I guess he fucked it up and slashed it when she struggled, I didn't think it would matter though, because the rumor being that she was drained of blood, plus would be sufficient by itself, well, along with being on their grounds."

Ysude felt like he was watching a horrible dream play out in front of him as he heard himself confessing in full to everything he'd done, but he couldn't seem to stop it. Among the guards, Segasta's own fellows had surrounded him in horror, he had spearpoints at his throat and was leaning back with a terrified expression. While Blue Rose sat in the amphitheater, Neia watched from elsewhere, where she could not be seen, and she grinned in satisfaction.

"So," Ulthis said, "Why Black Justice...?"

"Because they deserve it, they serve the undead, they're behind the disappearances I'm sure of it, and they're crippling our economy, if I have to trade the life of one worthless little bitch of a dangerous rival's house to get rid of them, then fine, that gets two problems off my plate." Ysude said sharply.

"Is someone compelling you to answer this way?" Ulthis asked, seemingly aghast.

"Nothing and no one is responsible for what I'm saying." He said, the smugness seeping out of his voice like a river overflows its bank, while his inner monologue he was screaming about how he was compelled to answer.

"You see all this as just...your right to do?" Ulthis asked with seeming shock, carefully structuring his question so that it sounded as if Ysude was answering with his reason for confessing.

"Of course it is." He said, still screaming inside his head.

Ulthis looked at the speakers, "Do either of you object to an...impromptu rebellion and arrest of the Marquis?"

They numbly said "No."

"Arrest? Me? I'm the Marquis Ysude, this city is mine, these people are mine, every stone of this city is mine, guards, secure me!" He said, but his guards were disgusted and didn't move.

The crowd had long since begun to murmur in shock, and it was rapidly growing to a tumult, Ulthis banged his gavel with vampiric strength only somewhat restrained, putting out enough sound to barely keep pandemonium from breaking out, and to quell it further before the crowd could become a mob he said, "Guards, seize the Marquis." This they promptly did, surrounding him with spearpoints to his neck, which he protested even as he stepped away as the circle started to move, forcing him to move with them to avoid being cut.

"Bring out Alyra." Ulthis said, and Alyra took the stand.

It was a brief affair after that, Alyra was clearly not right in the head, referring to Rava as her child and relaying that she had hoped she would make a family with herself and Segasta, however while her madness was clearly evident...particularly when she started screaming about Segasta's role, it was also compelling, and utterly damning for Segasta. Though he denied everything when he was brought out, his 'companions' in the guard quickly relayed that he had been boasting about coming in to some extra money, and that he had often boasted about sleeping with the mad maid Alyra. His denials were not believable, and when both parties rested their case, the votes were cast and counted over several hours. Segasta was found guilty and sentenced to die by an overwhelming majority, hardly anyone had believed his denials.

Alyra was voted innocent by reason of madness, and she was to be confined for the rest of her life.

Then came the impromptu trial of the Marquis, again and again under questioning by even his most ardent supporters, he insisted nobody and no one had done this to him, and by then the scroll compelling him to be truthful had worn off, while he still remained under the influence of Ulthis's vampire eyes, so an inspection by a temple priest showed he was simply telling the truth and that he was under no magic spell. Prompting Ulthis to be quietly grateful that the eyes of the vampire did not register in the ways they would look...and his constant insistence on referring to Neia by the names 'nothing and no one' left his answer flying over their heads, and concluding he was answering purely out of arrogant certainty that he could not be challenged...which made it all the more desirable to see him fall.

His defending speaker argued the right of rulers to do as they saw fit, but it proved an unpopular argument that even he evidently did not like, while the prosecuting speaker argued that he had committed treason against the people, and when the votes were cast he was overwhelmingly found to be guilty. Ulthis requested permission to allow Black Justice to carry out his sentence, while the city carried out sentence on Segasta, and with this even the temples agreed, reluctantly, that it was a fair trade allowing both sides to save face before their supporters, especially since the Black Justice temple agreed to let matters go over the riot as long as the surviving families of the dead Black Justice members were compensated, thus sparing the old temples further embarassment. What they did not see behind his eyes, was that Ulthis was not truly prepared to let that matter go, they were only buying a delay, one he intended to exploit in time.

The first thing to be done, was to execute Segasta...for that, they stripped him of his clothing, leaving him naked in the city square, except for a rope binding his wrists. As he shook terrified and naked before the mob, two guards approached with clubs, and hit each of his legs squarely on the shins, breaking them with a sickening crack, sending him falling to the ground and screaming in pain. As he writhed, a hook was looped through the rope at his wrists, and the other end was bound to the back of a saddle on a horse. He watched in horror as the rider spurred the horse on, the people lined the streets as he was dragged through the city, they threw rotten food, the contents of their chamber pots, and small stones at him as he flailed on the ground and screamed, and screamed, and screamed, as the rough cobblestone cut his flesh from front and back alike. Sometimes the horse would run, and he would bounce wildly on the stone, smashing his teeth or gouging chunks out of his body, other times it would go slow, scraping away skin and muscle, until he no longer wished to escape, except by dying. It was only long after death was the only thing he longed for, that he finally fell into unconsciousness, and closed his eyes forever when the horse stopped, and someone came up and kicked him in the face, to the cheers of the mob. In this way, Segasta died.

The Marquis Ysude saw it all begin, and he shook in horror while Neia, Ulthis, and Blue Rose surrounded him. Neia felt indulgent, "You think that is going to happen to you?" She asked him. "Don't worry, it won't." She said.

The members of Blue Rose snapped their eyes to Neia. "You don't mean to let him go, do you?" Gagaran asked aghast.

"Oh no." Neia said. "Black Justice was given the right to punish him, and what he has to worry about is probably much, much worse. He's going to be given over to the Sorcerer King."

It was at that moment that a gate opened, and Sebas stepped through, his arms folded formally behind his back, he approached the group, "Neia Baraja, it is good to see you again, though I could wish for happier conditions." He said politely inclining his head.

"You too Sebas." Neia replied with a warm smile on her face. She approached and shook his hand, and they each inclined a slight bow, and then Neia turned to introduce them. "This is Ulthis, Black Justice priest, and these over here who are not tied up, are the members of Blue Rose," she gestured to each one as she introduced them, "Lakyus, Evileye, Gagaran, Tia, and Tina." She said, "They were instrumental in aiding Momon against Jaldabaoth, and they directed me to the Sorcerer King for help against the demon emperor when he attacked my kingdom." She said enthusiastically.

"I see," Sebas said, offering a single bow to the adamantite team. "I am Sebas Tian, butler to the Sorcerer King, and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance." He said in a voice that carried considerable respect.

"The pleasure is ours." Lakyus said, offering an equally formal bow born of long practice in her noble life. "I understand you're to take," she gestured to the shaking Marquis Ysude, "this into custody?"

"That is correct lady Lakyus." He said.

"Will he suffer?" Gagaran asked.

"Probably for the rest of his life, which will continue until he dies of old age." Sebas said politely, prompting the Marquis Ysude to noticeably lose control of his bowels.

"Good." Tia and Tina said in Unison, followed swiftly by the same word being uttered by both Evileye and Lakyus.

Sebas stepped over to the man, grabbed him by his hair, and began dragging him screaming through the portal. "Till next time." Sebas said.

And then the portal was closed.

_...In Nazarick..._

The Marquis Ysude was having a very, very bad day. A day that was only getting worse as he was dragged to the foot of a magnificent throne and found himself facing an undead terror the likes of which he'd never imagined.

"I was watching your...speech." Ainz said in a noble voice.

Ysude was looking up at him in silent awe.

"Prostrate yourself worm." Demiurge said from beside him, and Ysude threw his face to the stone with painful force.

"There are some acts," Ainz said, "that are just the course of power, the strong vie against one another, they clash like rams or lions, this is the way of the world, but there are some acts so vile, so repugnant, that they cannot be excused. Expressly targeting a child stands among the worst of such things. Thus I think it fitting that your punishment should involve children." Wicked smiles began to appear on the faces of Albedo, Shalltear, Demiurge, and Aura.

"Kyouhukou is in need of a food source for his many children, and he was never properly rewarded for his work during the visit by those workers a few years ago. I say the Marquis will serve quite well in that capacity. He can take care of Kyouhukou's many children, and we shall provide his...guest, withn item that will keep him healed, so that even though they are consuming him alive at every moment of every day, he will always be able to provide them with more food." Ainz said, gesturing for the quivering Marquis to be taken away as he tried to get words out to beg for mercy, but was to frozen with terror to do so.

"A brilliant solution my lord Ainz." Demiurge said, "I could not have come up with a better solution myself."

"As expected of the one I love." Albedo said, drawing her hands together at her chest, smiling broadly.

"Of course, our supreme one would come up with the perfect solution." Shalltear said with a breathy sigh.

The Marquis however, was more than a little confused even as they forced him to wear some odd...but nice looking article of clothing, he didn't struggle through that part, only looked about in fear, awe, and confusion. His confusion however, was preferable to him to his knowledge, when he found himself confronted with a very large cockroach wearing a cape and crown and holding a scepter. When the matter was explained to the cockroach, which the Marquis concluded was the one called Kyouhukou, it was then that he began to understand.

The room was sealed behind the fallen nobleman and he stood up, shaking, finally being able to move again on his own, and he tried to speak, but the cockroach king spoke first, "Do you understand why you are here?" It said to him.

"Its...well..." He tried to stammer out an excuse, but the cockroach interrupted again.

"You're about to offer an excuse, I don't want that, I just want to know if why you are here has been explained to you." It said.

"Yes." He said numbly.

"Good, a punishment given without explanation teaches nothing, everyone should know why they suffer. Now, my children, you may feast." And as the Marquis struggled and flailed, he was brought down, and the roaches filled his mouth and charged down into his stomach, lungs, and everywhere inside his body they could cram themselves, he was screaming without the ability to make a sound, occasionally he'd flatten a few as he rolled on the floor, which Kyouhukou put a halt to eventually by chaining him in one place. It didn't even matter that it was dark, because his eyes were eaten...over...and over...and over again, as he lay unmoving except by minute writhing, always being eaten, never dying or even being able to give voice to the plea to die, until great age ended him at last.

_...In Kedyn..._

With the Marquis gone and Segasta taken away, Alyra alone remained, and the priests took possession of her to have her transfered to a mad house. The Viscount Yamoc and his wife Cercei approached the group of people they now regarded as personal heroes. "Thank you, thank you all. Nothing can bring back our daughter, but...it helps a little to know that justice is done. We have to arrange burial for her, and we also have to figure out who will run the city now, and there are still the disappearances creating havoc and tension." He said with both conviction and a heavy sigh.

"As to the disappearances," Lakyus said, "We will help with that, clearly that is a large part of the tension between the people we're hired to protect, and the rest of the population, I think we have to deal with that."

The Viscount nodded, "That will give people peace of mind, to know adamantite adventurers are venturing out there." He said. "Now you'll excuse us I hope, as we have a lot to do." They shared a common final bow, and he said to Neia as he left, "We will not forget our promise."

"Then my part is done." Ulthis said, and he bowed to Blue Rose, Neia, and the Viscount, one after another. "You have all done much, suffered much, but I have my temple to tend, and I have done my part here, I will answer your call if you need me again, but for now, I have my own work to do." He said politely, and then offered his hand out to each of them. Neia shook it gladly, as did the Viscount and his wife. So did Tia, Tina, Evileye, and Gagaran. But when it came to Lakyus, she stared at it like it was poison, then...with great reluctance and difficulty, as if her arm now weighed a thousand times that of her body, she lifted her arm from her side, and took his hand in hers, and shook it. "You did something good today." She said reluctantly.

"Its what I'm supposed to do." Ulthis said, "And by the way, so did you." He added, and then released the grip and walked away.

"I'd best be going as well." Neia said. "You brought me here to help you with something of a unique situation, I've done that. Now you're probably going into combat, and while I'm not bad at that, you're legends, and that is your area of expertise. Plus I have my own problems to deal with in Wenmark, I hope I don't have to call on you to soon, but at the same time...I do hope to see you soon, only for pleasant circumstances. I really was glad to see you again." Neia smiled as she spoke, and offered her hand out to each member of Blue Rose.

"You've changed a lot since you were the humble quiet squire we saw years ago." Evileye said. "And for the better I have to say." She added.

"Thank you." Neia said proudly, "It means a lot coming from you."

"Well done." Gagaran said.

"Wait, you're not going to ask if I'm cherry are you, I've heard about your ways?" Neia said with a laugh, one Gagaran responded to with a laugh of her own.

"No, no need to worry about that," Gagaran said, "you're not my type." They shared a laugh, and Tia and Tina each shook her hand with a simple, "Thanks for the help."

Lakyus was last, but the 'weight' of her arm seemed to have lessened dramatically when it came to shaking a human's hand, "You were an asset today, in ways I didn't expect. But...where did you learn that?" She asked in bafflement.

"I went to Nazarick. The Library of Ashurbanipal has the wisdom of ages, and it was bestowed to me for my service, and so that I might serve justice better." She replied.

"Well it worked." Lakyus said. "Thank you. I hope to see you under happier conditions another time."

"Me too." Neia said, "Now I'd better go meet up with Ulthis, he'll use another scroll to send me back to Wenmark. Good luck, not that you'll need it." Neia said with a wave behind her. CZ simply gave a polite nod to them all and said, "Bye...before going up to each member of the team and placing a sticker on them saying "cute" as she did so, leaving a few red faces in her wake as she walked beside Neia.

Blue Rose heaved a heavy sigh.

"A demon maid...the founder of a new religion...a vampire priest...and all the rest...this won't be a day I'll ever forget." Lakyus said softly as she watched the pair retreat.

"Agreed." The rest of the team said.

"However, there is still something else that has to be done, before anything else." Evileye said. Even the power of her mask could not hide all the dread in her voice, "It may be the last thing I ever do, but it has to be done. There is something I need you to see."

Her sisters looked at her with confusion.

"I need you all to come with me, you'll know why when we get there. Save our questions until then. Trust me, at least one more time." Evileye said to the worried faces of those she loved best, and she began to walk towards the main gate of the city, her and her sisters fell into step silently behind her.

**AN: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and this entire portion of the story arc, my original ten chapters will probably turn out to be fifteen, though I planned it out extensively, I had to throw out some things that didn't work, and add in a few things that did, if I were doing a complete rewrite, there are a few minor details I might modify...and at some point I may revisit this overall story to change a few details and add in a little more foreshadowing, maybe tweak a clue or two, that kind of thing. But all in all I'm about 95% satisfied with it, and the remaining 5% would take more hours than I have available to spend on something I don't get paid for, when I have other projects and obligations that require my limited time. You know how it goes, makes me really wish for Ainz's freeze time spell. Forget the baby goats, give me that one. :) Anyway, if you liked this, leave reviews, and expect the next chapter either tomorrow or the day after at the latest.**


	11. Revelation & Betrayal

Evileye's heart had not beaten in over two hundred years, but now...now she was in such a terrified state that she could swear it had jumpstarted her stilled heart and made it race like a horse on a track.

Her team followed in concerned silence as she got on her horse, and they on theirs, and began to trot it slowly out of the city. She could have gone faster, perhaps to get this over with and be done with it, perhaps to just end the fear she felt, or even just got at a normal pace, but instead she let the horse plod slowly along as if pulling a funeral cart for mourners to pay their respects to.

She felt that way, she felt like death had claimed her, but left her frightened of it out of spite. One by one, with each step of the horse, each clip, each clop of hoof on stone, another of the things Lakyus had said about vampires or the undead came back to haunt Evileye's mind. Nor was Lakyus alone in providing those dread moments, the entire team had happily killed her kind, and had never done anything but spoken against them.

Even though they begrudgingly worked with Ulthis, their discomfort was not lost on Evileye's sharp senses and intimate knowledge of her sisters.

The city gate appeared as they drew closer, Evileye could make out every detail on the guard's faces, but for her team they were only blurs. The pressure of Evileye's silence and her obvious tension continued to mount, it became like a heavy weight on her chest and Evileye feared she was losing her nerve.

To calm herself she sought distraction, "Do you remember our first mission together?" Evileye asked.

Lakyus grinned at the fond memory, "Yes, we put down a group of goblins threatening a village. It wasn't even a platinum ranked job, but we all took it so we could learn how to work together as an effective team."

"Do you ever think about the goblins themselves?" Evileye asked.

"Not really." Gagaran answered.

"No." Replied the twins.

"Why?" Lakyus asked.

"Well, we went to Commonton, and we saw that demihumans could live lives just like we do. We may have thought at the time they were just going to kill humans for sport, but now...well...what if those goblins were just trying to provide for their own community? They were obviously hunters and the farms of the villagers were displacing them. In their eyes, do you think maybe we were the monsters?" Evileye asked softly as they passed under the portcullis.

There was silence again. "I guess so." Gagaran said uncomfortably. "They probably did see us that way, now that you mention it." Lakyus asked. "But so what? We're supposed to protect humans. Its true I've been willing to fight humans to protect demihumans, and I've done so, we all have. But the humans were the ones being threatened there." She said defensively.

"At the time I never even considered finding a peaceful solution. A way for them to coexist, if someone had suggested it, I'd have laughed at them. The irony there..." she said, "but now I wonder how many beings we've killed that we didn't have to, the Sorcerer King is intelligent, practical, protects his people. Ulthis, married to a human woman, helped catch two child killers. If they can exist, why not others?" She asked.

"Maybe there are." Tia said. "But they don't generally give us time to find out." Tina added.

"If there were time given to you, would you bother?" Evileye asked pointedly.

"Probably not..." they agreed one by one.

Evileye looked up the sky, it was a profoundly beautiful day, the right kind of day for this, no matter what happened.

"Lakyus, can I ask your forgiveness for hitting you before?" Evileye said softly.

Lakyus touched her cheek gently, "Of course, your my sister, no matter what." She said, "I won't pretend I understand why you got that out of sorts, but of course I forgive you." Lakyus's voice was surprised, but also warm and comforting to Evileye.

"I love you all, you know that?" Evileye said, looking over her shoulder as they came close to the woods.

"Of course we know that." Tia said. "Without a doubt." Tina said, completing the thought.

"Yes, I know, but you're starting to scare me, Evileye." Gagaran said.

"Agreed, but what are you asking for?" Lakyus asked, concern evident in her voice.

"We've had an amazing run, my roses, my garden, my family." Evileye said, not really talking to them as she left the horse secured behind her, followed quickly by the others.

"That we have..." Lakyus said.

"If I could live my life a thousand times over, there are any things I'd do differently each time, but choosing you all, I could do over and over for ten million lifetimes and every time it would be the best time of my life, even with all the difficulty and danger..." Evileye said, still evidently talking to herself.

The green of the wood was beautiful, the way it split the light through the branches, creating rivers of light stopping at the ground. Evileye came to a dead tree that had fallen over near a small creek, there was a small red plant growing from a crack in the dead one, she paused a moment to look more closely at it, to touch it and wish it health. Nor was it the only thing living on the dead tree, there were mushrooms and insects, and even a bird's nest with two eggs in it. "Nothing is more alive in the forest than you are my friend." Evileye said to the fallen tree, and then she climbed over it, a few feet away, she spotted it, the perfect place, there was a clearing, grass grew thickly on it, branches blew in the wind, a few flowers here and there sprung up, and for a moment Evileye imagined herself as the tree, laying there forever, with new life nourished from her body, providing for the renewal of the woods. It seemed like a nice place to pass, if that was what was going to happen.

When she entered the clearing, she gestured for them to stand just inside it, then walked herself to the center, where she wanted to lay to rest if they turned on her.

Her forever still heart, continued to deceive her with the imagination of its racing beat. In an idle thought, she wondered why she should be afraid, this was the end of the lies and the tension, she had no intention of defending herself, and no intention of being alone again.

She would have the peace of her family, her sisters, or she would have the peace of the grave. As she got to the center, she turned around and faced them.

"Its been the best time of my life to have you all." Evileye said, her head lowered slightly. "I spent most of my life alone, and it isn't something, after having had all this, with all of you, that I can ever go back to." Her voice caught in her throat, and Gagaran interjected.

"Are you leaving us?" Gagaran asked, prompting the twin's mouths to open. Lakyus's face took on a confused expression.

Evileye shook her head. "No, I'd never leave you, the same however, might not be true after this, and if things had to...to change, I wanted it all to end somewhere peaceful, beautiful, and this is a nice place." She said.

"For years and years I've tried to conceal this, and for a long time it was easy, but as the years wore on, the secret I've kept has become like a dagger in my side. Sometimes change comes by choice, and sometimes its forced on us, as it once was on me, and sometimes...sometimes it comes when staying the same is more painful than the change is. So I have to do this, not because I want to, but because I can't bear not to anymore." Evileye said.

Her sisters wanted to say something, but they were halted by seeing her do something she'd never done before, looking straight at them, she was reaching up for her mask. As she pulled it forward from her face, she said, "Please know, I will forgive whatever you do next, and I will love you as much in the world beyond, as I do in this one right now." It was the first time they'd heard her unfiltered voice, and it had a beautiful lilt to it.

The mask came away, and with her eyes closed, she took it into her right hand, and dropped it at her side.

All of the Blue Rose members had privately speculated about what was beneath the mask, a hideous curse, a birth defect, a cruel scar or mutilation, a thousand speculations had run through their private thoughts, but now here they were looking, and there was just a smooth, beautiful, youthful face there.

"This...this is the real me, my sisters." Evileye said, and wiping away tears from below her eyelids, she lowered her hands to her side, and opened her eyes, revealing the blood red, bright as a torch even in the daytime, it took a moment before what they were seeing sank in.

She saw shock sweep over their faces, she could see the little pieces of the puzzle that had been scattered about, come together into the picture of the vampire in front of them, but only Lakyus was saying anything, and were it not for the spectacular hearing of a vampire, she could not have heard what it was.

"The gods...the gods...the gods condemn...abomination..." Lakyus murmured over...and over...and over. "My little sister...an abomination" Lakyus said softly and started to walk over to her in a steady, slow, unbroken, unhesitating and unflinching pace, slowly reaching for her sword.

Evileye just watched, "Its OK," she thought, "better by her hand than some monster, I'll rest easy here, and this can only hurt one more time." A bitter smile came over her face as Lakyus was ten feet away, and Evileye blinked back tears as she heard Lakyus whisper softly, "The gods condemn my sister...an abomination"

Evileye inhaled deeply the air she didn't need, it felt so good to do so, so many wonderful scents in this season. "Its alright." Evileye said barely louder than a rustle in the grass. "If my sister needs my life, its hers for the taking."

Lakyus was five feet away.

Evileye glanced at her other sisters, Tia, Tina...Gagaran...moments alone had passed, they'd taken out their weapons, but dropped them at their sides.

Evileye raised her arms up to her side, she smiled, revealing her vampire fangs along with her vampire eyes, when the blade cut her down, she would take with her at least one last embrace with a loved one, that would be enough to see her out of this world.

"Its such a beautiful world..." she thought, "But its only really them I'm going to miss." She fished the thought as Lakyus stood in front of her and lifted her sword, the demon sword would make it a clean death, and she heard Lakyus whisper again, "The gods condemn my sister..." Evileye closed her eyes, she didn't want the last look into her eyes the Lakyus had, to be that of a vampire's gaze, let her remember her differently if she could.

Lakyus was in reach now, she could hear the final step, and Evileye brought her arms towards her for the last embrace she'd know in the world and took one step closer of her own, as she felt the sword rise up over Lakyus's head.

"Just a moment of pain, and that'll be it...my last pain...always expected it to be a violent death...if not quite this way." Evileye thought.

She heard the others start to move, they were reacting now, they were fast, especially the twins, they were a legendary adamantite team, it was expected of them. She wondered if they were hoping to save her, or help Lakyus end her, but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes to find out, but if it was to save her, even for all their speed, she knew they were way to late..

And it was because her eyes were closed that she didn't see that when Lakyus began to bring the sword down, she also released it, it went all the way across the field and buried itself half way through a thick tree with a solid 'thock' sound. But the sound did not carry to Evileye before the feeling did...

The feeling of Lakyus returning her embrace, and the feel of Lakyus sobbing in her shoulder, neck exposed and bare in the embrace of her vampire sister. She sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, barely getting out the words, "If the gods condemn my sister as an abomination...then I...condemn...the GODS...!"

Lakyus tightened her embrace with all her strength, which was no small thing, even to a vampire like Evileye, and when she heard what Lakyus said, she began to sob herself, the tears she'd hidden burst like a dam and her blood red eyes flew open as the pair fell to their knees on the grass that Evileye had thought would be her final resting place.

Gagaran and the twins had gathered around her as well, but there were no kunai out, and Fel Iron was laying farther away from Gagaran's grip than Evileye had ever seen it before as her sisters held her, it was an embrace far preferable than the earth.

Lakyus grabbed Evileye's shoulder's suddenly and pushed her back, breaking the embrace for a moment, and then she grabbed the side of Evileye's face, bringing her so that they were looking straight at one another.

"Look into my eyes sister," Lakyus said, perhaps not appreciating the irony of her phrasing. Her eyes were wide and beautiful as the sky, and they did not flinch when they saw themselves reflected in the bright red pools of her vampire sister's face, "I would choose you...always you...over a thousand times a thousand gods...if they say you're an abomination, then I'd rather BE an abomination with you for a day, than have them sing praises for my faith for an eternity." She said with the iron conviction that had always been her nature.

"My family needs me, and I need my family, I can live without the gods, because the gods don't need me." She said softly, "There's only one thing I can offer to make everything right...I'm sorry...I get it now...I didn't know I was hurting you...I'd never hurt you..." Lakyus said, her voice cracking and thick with emotion.

She turned her face to one side and closed her eyes, baring her vulnerable neck to the fangs of her sister.

Eviley simply pulled her back into her embrace again, and used Lakyus's neck to catch her tears, atonement enough in her eyes.

How long they remained that way was anyone's guess, with the woods being thick and deep and only rays of sun on grass to mark the passing moments of the Sun's movement across the sky, but it felt like a second, and it felt like an eternity, both at once.

But every moment must pass away, and gradually the flow of tears had to end eventually. And when they were spent of emotion, they sat together on the grass, it was a comfortable silence for awhile, the first comfortable silence Evileye had in recent memory. She looked around at faces without her mask for the first time in centuries, she felt the sun on her face in all its warmth, and when she looked at her sisters of Blue Rose with unhidden eyes, there was no flinching, no fear, it was the best feeling she'd had in ages, and she allowed herself to fall back with a sight of relief and a happy lilting laugh. "I wonder if Ulthis felt like this when he revealed himself to his wife?" Evileye said, smiling without hiding her fangs.

Lakyus laughed, "I don't know, but don't ask me to marry you, it might have worked out that way for him, but you're not my type."

That brought a round of laughter, and Lakyus leaned back on the palms of her hands.

"This opens up a lot of questions." Tia said.

"It really does." Tina agreed.

"Like what?" Evileye asked. "I'll answer if I can, but there are some things even I don't want to talk about so...forgive me if I decline some answers."

"For starters, what is your real name?" Gagaran asked.

"Keeno Fasris Inberun." She replied.

"Keeno...so my sister's name is Keeno..." Gagaran said, her usual boistrous voice gone soft, "I'm happy to finally know it."

"How old are you really?" Tia asked.

"Two hundred and forty, give or take a few seasons." Evileye replied.

"Was...this...a choice?" Tina asked gently.

"No." Evileye said, a chill coming to her voice, "And please do not ask, even after all this time, I don't like to talk about it."

"Do you...have to drink blood?" Lakyus asked, clearly afraid of the answer.

Evileye rolled to her side, and looked at her sister, searching the face of the leader of Blue Rose. After awhile she realized what the fear was, it wasn't of her, it was what she was supposed to think if the answer was yes.

Evileye lowered he gaze to the grass and started picking at it. "I don't have to have it, no. If I...feed, I get more powerful, if I don't, the 'hunger' to do so remains, but it is manageable, I can live without taking blood or taking lives."

"When was the...last time?" Lakyus asked.

"Before facing the evil deities, I needed all the strength I could muster. Back then I was known as 'Landfall', one of the thirteen heroes." She said.

"Did you kill the one you...fed from?" Lakyus asked delicately.

"NO." Evileye said firmly. "To...to feed, we don't have to kill or even compel. Some of those who understand what is needed, offer it freely. Ulthis's wife gives it to him when they are intimate. Its very...personal, when it is done willingly, I haven't had 'that' in a long long, time." Evileye said.

Lakyus let herself fall backwards onto the grass. "So this is what it feels like to be an apostate..." She said softly and turned her head to look at her vampire sister. Evileye and rolled back over onto her back, looking much like a person who had set down an enormous burden carried for far to long. Her eyes were closed, and she looked completely at peace.

In the quietness of her mind, Lakyus thought to herself, "_My faith made me a person that hurt her, my faith brought me to burden her so greatly that she preferred to die than to carry it even one day more...I much prefer apostasy I think. It doesn't feel nearly as bad as what I was doing to her._" She sighed heavily and quietly dared her god to strike her down for her betrayal, for daring to choose her sister, a vampire, first. The next breath came and went, and if the water god cared about what she'd done, it gave no sign, if it heard her, it gave no sign. She reached out one hand, and grasped Evileye...Keeno's hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. Keeno squeezed it back.

That was sign enough for Lakyus that she'd done what the priest had said, even if he hadn't meant it the way she now did. She'd done the right thing.

**AN: Well there you have it, the grand reveal in all its glory. I'm about 99% happy with this one, a few things I 'might' do differently if I were to turn this over in my head for a week or two, but...I'm not going to do that. Maybe someone else could have written it better, maybe not, I...again, must definitely credit one of the finest 'reveal' moments to "Masks They Wear" though I flatter myself to say my effort compares at least. ;) But whether you loved it, liked it, or hated it, it is done, and this one...got kind of personal in some ways for me. Its funny how that happens, how fiction can give us allegories for our own experience, no matter how far removed from reality a story can be. Anyway, if you liked this chapter...or hated it, leave a review. Incidentally, I've revisited the previous chapter and tweaked a few things that I think improved it a bit and brought me back up to 95% satisfaction, so if you want to reread that chapter, well there are a few edits. Well no matter what, thanks for taking the time to read this one, and I hope it was worth it, and YES...for the billionth time I know it is a little short. :) Its ending however, exactly where it needs to for right now. Next chapter will probably be done tomorrow, but if its not, well you'll just have to wait. **


	12. C11 Alt Ending: Unredeemed & Unholy

**AN: OK so a few reviews on the last chapter were...kinda scathing, well I guess you can't please everybody every time. :) Honestly I was pretty happy with that chapter...and I assume 'most' people generally were. But...just for the hell of it, I thought I'd add the alternate ending, one I considered but ultimately set aside, where...instead of Lakyus finding 'redemption' by choosing her sister over her religion, a much 'darker' course took hold. The next (I don't know...is canon the right word to use here? The next 'actual' part of the story, will still be out today, but I wanted to do a few edits to it. There are a few chapters left to go, then it is BACK to 'God Rising' again, to the blood and death of Wenmark.**

**In THIS version...Lakyus chooses her gods over Evileye...watch...and see what ****_ALMOST_**** happened... :)**

The sword came down in a flash, it cleaved through Evileye where the neck and shoulder joined, rending flesh and bone asunder as if they were soft butter. Evileye has managed to wrap her arms around her sister as she wished, one final embrace for the hero once known as Landfall. The sword didn't stop until it has passed below her heart and well into her guts, and the twins and Gagaran managed to pull Lakyus away, breaking her grip on the demon sword. Not that it did any good, Evileye stood for a fraction of a second, not bending so much as an inch under the impact of the sword, but when the grip was lost, so was the unlife that sustained her, and when she lost her sister's embrace as Lakyus was pulled back, she fell forward on her face, her blood red eyes opened, not that her sisters could see that, nor could she see them, she heard their screaming, but that was all. Lakyus was screaming too, Evileye could tell that much.

"What have you done?!" Gagaran said, letting the twins pull Lakyus back as she rushed to Evileye, pulled the sword out that had fallen with her, and cast it aside. She turned the woman of legend, her sister, her Evileye, over onto her back so she was looking up.

Lakyus was screaming, "I didn't want to do it! I didn't want to!" as she went to her knees, screaming at the uncaring sky.

Gagaran fumbled for a healing potion, only for it to be obviously to late for that. Evileye managed one last smile, coughing up blood as she whispered, "Beautiful..." and closed her blood red eyes for the final time.

Unbeknownst to any in this world, the brain remains active for a short time, and it allowed Evileye to hear what they were saying, even if she could not move, speak, or even weep, and she heard Gagaran get up and go to where Lakyus was screaming and shout, "Bring her back!" And the sound of a meaty armored fist connecting to Lakyus's face, and the crunch of bone beneath it, and with her heightened vampiric senses functioning to the very end, she heard Lakyus fall backwards into the grass, and then Evileye, Landfall, the woman of legend, the greatest magic caster in the Re-Estize kingdom...knew no more.

She did not hear the twins come to her body and scream for her to get up, she did not hear Lakyus's heartbroken sobs, she did not hear the sound of Gagaran beating her, it was the end and that was that, not only for Evileye, but for Blue Rose, the years of victory were done, the rose had withered away.

_...Aftermath...Gagaran_

Like the broken petals of a dried, dead rose, the former sisters went apart. Gagaran did not kill Lakyus that day, she had beaten her...hard...and Lakyus had not even tried to stop her, if she even noticed the beating in her own entranced and hysterical state, Gagaran never did know. She only knew that when Lakyus fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut, she would never see Lakyus again. She abandoned the contract and her sisters, and wandered the world a broken soul, but worse, a violent soul who threw herself into combat as if all she wanted was to die herself, just not alone. She was given the nickname 'Suicide' over the years, and eventually found herself in the great Arena of the Baharuth empire, facing off against Go Gin in a matchup of legends.

The announcement had hardly begun, she had hardly walked into the arena, when she saw her opponent. She cared nothing for the crowd, for the cheers, for the accolades, she simply charged, and Go Gin met that charge, she bashed him recklessly, violently with her Fel Hammer, knocking him to one knee for the first time in his life, but a human and a war troll are different things, and he smashed back with equal force. She gave perhaps the greatest showing the Arena had ever seen, before at last his club connected with her head, and gave her a sudden, blessed death.

Her showing was so outstanding that Go Gin reached out to the only one to ever defeat him, the Sorcerer King, and informed him of what he'd experienced, it so intrigued Ainz that he acquired her body for Nazarick, and when her preserved corpse was brought to him, still in her armor with her hammer by her side, he said aloud, "I wonder what marvelous undead I can make with this for material."

_...Aftermath...Tia & Tina_

Tia & Tina had been inseperable as members of Blue Rose, and this did not change after Blue Rose had drowned in the shower of Evileye's blood. They could not bring themselves to kill Lakyus, ironic...considering that had been their first goal so long ago, but nor could they remain with her. They buried the body of Evileye where she fell, with all her equipment, and left a stone marker reading, "Here lies a sister, loved in life and unlife, Evileye, Landfall, woman of legend, may her story life till nobody does". When they finally left the area, abandoning their contract, they returned to their role as assassins, and returned to it with a vengeance that defied reality itself.

Though they could not bring themselves to kill Lakyus, they made it their personal business to kill those who served her religion, they began targeting the priests of the Slane Theocracy, they began a reign of terror over the territory of the Slane Theocracy's churches that lasted for years, despite countless attempts at bringing them to heel, all the Cardinals got in return were bodies to bury, it was not until they committed the guardian of the treasury to deal with them after they personally killed one of the cardinals, slaying Dominic in his own bed. Using the Windflower Scripture to track her, and Zeshi Zetsumi being tasked with fighting, they were at last brought to bay. They fought tooth and nail, without regard for death, they forced Zeshi to use multiple martial arts at once. Eventually however, Zeshi brought down Tia, then Tina, within seconds of one another. "It was a good fight." She said somberly as she offered the highest praise she knew. It had been, and blood, hers and theirs, dripped from her body and left tracks behind her as she walked back to the stunned Windflower Scripture.

Their bodies were stripped of anything of value, then thrown back to the ground, two naked, mutilated, female corpses, abandoned to be eaten by animals. But the long term tracking project the Sorcerer King had undertaken after the defeat of the Gray Scripture told him where they lay, and he had their bodies retrieved when the others were gone. When their bodies were returned, Ainz was delighted as he prepared to create a whole new type of undead.

_...Aftermath...Lakyus_

Lakyus, despite having struck the killing blow, having showed faith in her gods even to the point of choosing them over her precious sister, was not rewarded by the gods in whom she placed her faith. Her actions, if anything, had damned her, even if only in her own mind. She sat at the grave and begged forgiveness from Evileye's corpse for hour after hour, day after day, week after week, she never ate nor drank as she begged her sister to forgive her for her death. Her adamantite constitution and her items sustained her, but the environment did not, her beautiful golden hair turned bedraggled and snarl ridden, she didn't bath and was covered in dirt and grime, and her grip on reality continued to devolve as she slowly wasted away. There she died, months later, falling forward over the place where Evileye rested.

When Ainz Ooal Gown eventually scoured the woods himself after claiming the Holy Kingdom and driving out the forces hiding in the woods, his scouts found the body of the legendary Lakyus, and he learned at the same moment, the fate of Evileye. He had both bodies removed and brought to Nazarick. His delight over what he found was palpable. "What a marvelous undead I will make of you." He said to the silent corpse of Lakyus.

And when he looked to the corpse of Evileye, he was surprised to find her a vampire, but nonetheless Nazarick was not without its resources, and could do with even the corpses of the undead, things that others could not, and he used her body as a reagent, enabling him to create a new unliving champion of Nazarick.

So one by one the heroes of humanity fell into his skeletal hands, and he raised them to his service in a new unlife, reunited them in a common bond. He did what he could to keep their memories intact, but he bound them unbreakably to his service.

When the five of them knelt before him in his throne room, as the last of them was raised to unlife, he swept his hands before them and said, "Welcome to Nazarick my Unholy Roses."

"How may your Unholy Roses serve you?" They asked in unison.

**AN: Well I hope you liked this one. I had fun with it. :) I decided against this ending, but honestly, I like this one too. I went the other way primarily because of the main story, rather than because of any defect in this one. I preferred Lakyus's redemption, rather than for her to break the way Remedios did, because in the end the differences between them were the deciding factor. Remedios lost the only one she really loved, despite her best efforts. Lakyus however, had a choice to make about what mattered most to her, and she chose the people she loved rather than the gods she served. Remedios has nothing left but her madness and her devotion to her beliefs. The two had striking similarities, but I thought the story better to see them go apart. If there is any real interest in THIS story as a branch, or even if there isn't because...I'll write what I want. ;) Well, I may do an 'alternate timeline' detailing the Unholy Roses, but I have enough on my plate for now, and will be returning to God Rising in a few days, once I wrap up the Unholy Rose arc officially...which will be in 2-3 chapters at most I think. I could have ended it already, but the disappearances tie in to both the Queen in the Sword AND God Rising, soooo...kind of have to finish it.**

**As always...reviews NEEDED. :) Next chapter will probably be out today.**


	13. Disappearing Acts

** AN: Now we resume the closing days of Blue Rose in Kedyn, Evileye's secret is revealed, the killer caught, the Marquis deposed, but the disappearances still remain, and when that is completed, it is time to return to Wenmark.**

It was a terrible shock to her sisters, but to Evileye, any outcome, even the worst, was a relief because nothing else could happen after that. The weight of years was lifted, the weight of her mask was no longer increased by her isolation, it was now just a mask, a thing she'd need among common humans, but never again with her sisters. Their questions came rapid fire for awhile, but drifted gradually into silence. She was relieved when it happened, but she saw the troubled face of her leader, and could not stop from asking her, "Lakyus...its OK to be bothered by 'these'," Evileye pointed to her two blood red eyes. "You don't have to pretend you arent, I get it. Its enough for me that you're still at my side, sister." Evileye smiled, lighting up her face in spite of the fangs it revealed.

Lakyus shook her head, regretting as she did so, that her sister had been forced to hide such a beautiful smile for so long. "Its not that, I know this sounds bad but I was actually thinking about myself just now."

"How so?" Evileye asked curiously.

"I've been a priestess of the water god for many years, I've held the faith of the gods for my entire life, believing that the undead are irredeemably evil, that humanity had to be kept safe, hell even good demihumans were second in my mind to good humans. Without that part of myself...who is 'apostate Lakyus'? What do I do with that, I have to rethink everything I ever thought I knew." Lakyus said softly, her voice carrying a slight hint of discomfort she felt. "However, I have to say," she continued, "that my rethinking it is long overdue. If you can be as you are, perhaps Ulthis is also as he seems, and if he can be, then maybe the Sorcerer King is more than just an unusually long thinking monster."

"You'll figure it out." Evileye said with absolute confidence.

"Well, I've got my sisters to help me out along the way." Lakyus gave her team a warm and somewhat sheepish grin, and got up. She went and retrieved her sword, and the rest of the team retrieved their arms as well.

"For now though, we have another problem on our hands." Tia said.

"A very big problem." Tina added.

"Agreed." Gagaran said as she hefted Fel Iron.

"Yes, we have to find out what is causing those disappearances. As long as that continues, the city will suffer, tensions will rise, and things will get worse. Protecting the Black Justice citizens while we're there is easy in the short run, but the long run we're better off finding out the cause of the tension in the first place." Lakyus said.

"So, what do we do next?" Evileye asked.

"We're here, so we start checking, we need to look for signs of habitation, movement, anything that could indicate that something is killing the hunters and trappers here, whatever it might be." Lakyus said, her voice returning to its authoritative sense of command and presence.

This was the part of adventuring the bards never sang about, the weary grind of inspecting, searching, the muck, the rocks being turned over and twigs being carefully examined to see what might have broken them. This was the work of hunters as much as adventurers, and in this, the adventurers were hunters, tracking dangerous prey. They moved silent as ghosts through the woods, even the hulking Gagaran was experienced enough at fieldcraft and hunting, and within hours they had found their first clue.

"There!" Evileye said as she leapt down into a small creek, and took up the remnants of a trap. To most it wouldn't have appeard to be anything special, but Evileye knew it for what it was, a stake from a deadfall. "Now...where did you come from..." She asked the wooden stake as she turned it over and over in her hand.

The rest of the team started to look around, with care, knowing that a trap was near. Gagaran ended up finding it, covered by some fallen leaves, disturbed earth. She stomped several times. "This has been filled in. Someone has been sabotaging the traps, they don't want people hunting here."

"But what about the fur trappers?" Tia asked.

"Yeah, this is definitely a hunter's trap, but obviously for meat, they wouldn't want to damage the fur..." Tina added.

"Well, we're not that far into the forest, but lets think about this a moment." Lakyus said.

"What do you mean?" Evileye asked, turning her blood red eyes to Lakyus.

Lakyus's gaze quickly turned away, snapping to some bland spot on the ground. "What wouldn't have done this?" She asked. Without waiting for response, she answered her own question, "Spirits would not do this, they pass over such traps. Some kinds of demihumans might, but none of the ones that are anywhere close to here, and these disappearances didn't start happening until way after the invasion, so it probably isn't any holdouts from the demihuman invasion." She said.

"Heh, you sound like Neia." Tia said.

"Exactly like." Tina added.

"After all this is over...when we go visit the Sorcerer King for ourselves, and see Momon," Gagaran began, pausing to enjoy seeing the naked face of Evileye blush as red as her vampire eyes, "I think we should ask for a visit to this library of his."

Lakyus looked over at Gagaran and laughed, "If we survive all this...and get that chance of course, I promise you I'll ask. Who knows, we might have a talent for this."

"So we can eliminate several possibilities just by knowing which beings would not do this." Evileye said.

Lakyus nodded, though without turning to meet her glance, "Yes. But its more than that too." She said as she began leading the way through the woods again. The branches creaked and twigs snapped, the leaves rustled and the wind created a peaceful rustling as they moved deeper into the area.

Eventually the came across a tree that had holes in it, they looked around and found discarded wooden planks with nails still in them. Tia reached out and touched the tree and looked at the nails, "This was a ladder. But to what?" She asked.

"That." Tina said, pointing up.

"There's nothing there..." Gagaran replied.

"No, but there was. See the burn marks in the branches?" Evileye said. "Something burned up there, and I'll bet that what was there, was a place for a hunter or a trapper to take down animals from above. Someone burned it down to nothing. and then discarded the planks creating the ladder."

Lakyus frowned, "Well, it was definitely a magic user at least."

"How do you know that?" Gagaran asked.

"If it had been fire from an arrow, then they would have easily burned the whole forest down." Tia said simply.

"But a magic user could target one spot and burn it cleanly." Tina finished for her.

They went deeper into the woods before they found something more. They found a body. Evileye found it first, they were on the bank of a river that wound it's way through the woods, when Evileye spotted him, a fragment of brown cloth rippling in the water, she called out to her companions, but softly, using bird calls, and leaped down the bank, she splashed about as she came closer and closer, eventually finding up close what she'd seen at a distance. The cloth was part of a tunic, and the tunic was worn by a man, he was obviously dead, and had been in the water for awhile.

Even for the undead, this was unpleasant, but she dragged him back to the bank, and put him up where the team could look him over. "Drowning?" Gagaran asked?

"Maybe." Evileye said.

"Usually when you find a body in the water..." Tina began.

"They drowned in it." Tia finished.

"If you shoot a man with an arrow and he falls into the water and dies, which do you really blame for his death?" Lakyus asked.

"The arrow...even if he drowned, well he wouldn't have been in there more than likely, or could have gotten out at least, if he hadn't been pierced." Evileye said.

"Well, his eye is missing." Lakyus said. "Not many trappers or hunters only have one eye, what if it was shot out, then he fell into the water, died, and floated down here?" She asked.

The blood red eyes of Evileye turned up to Lakyus...and Lakyus suddenly seemed to find some inconsequential part of the corpse very interesting. "Good point." Evileye said numbly.

"So...this man was somewhere upstream, found something he shouldn't have, or met someone he shouldn't have, took an arrow to the eye, and fell or was tossed into the river like a puppet whose strings had been cut, and floated down here?" Gagaran asked.

"That is about the size of it." Lakyus said.

"Then we look upstream." Tia said.

"Carefully." Tina added.

Evileye stood up, "But throw him back first." She said.

"What...why? Shouldn't we bury him properly, or return him to the city?" Lakyus looked at Evileye suddenly, meeting her eyes again, as if searching, she stared intently.

"Because," Evileye said in a pragmatic voice, "If we leave him as he is right here, he could be found, if we bury him and whoever or whatever is responsible for these events might come across the disturbed earth and figure out somebody is on to them, if we try to take him back we'll make enough of a racket to alert the whole forest that we're here. We have to throw him back or we'll give ourselves away and then he'll have died for nothing."

Lakyus frowned, the reasoning was perfect, but it felt inhuman. Though she loved Evileye enough to abjure the very gods she served to stay at her sister's side, the revelation of her vampiric nature was still a lot to cope with, and now, knowing her sister saw everything through blood red eyes, even the most practical suggestions, took on a darker tint to Lakyus.

Her outer frown turned inward as she confronted the thought of her sister as inhuman, she hated it, it was ugly, it was wrong, but it was still there whether she wanted it to be or not. She looked away from Evileye, hoping that those beautiful eyes did not see the ugliness inside her as she did. "I guess, but we have to try to retrieve him later, we'll put him back, but tie him to something so his body doesn't leave the area, this way we can give him a proper burial eventually."

"On it boss." Tia and Tina said, and with the speed of ninjas they darted about the wood, gathering what stones they could, cutting his stomach open, and shoving the rocks inside to add weight to the body.

Gagaran looked down at the now much heavier corpse. "We'll come back for you." She said, and heaved the bloated body back into the water, where it promptly sank after floating just a few feet. "I'll need a bath after this is over." She said.

"Well, we can eliminate all demihumans now." Lakyus said, "They'd have retrieved his body for dinner, and we can eliminate vampires," she conspicuously avoided looking at Evileye, "he hadn't been drained of blood."

"Humans." Evileye said. "There isn't much else left."

They began to move upstream, the babbling water provided music to the forest, and for long minutes even as they scanned the area for traps...of which they found several disabled ones, but it wasn't until they had gone several miles that they found the first evidence of habitation. There were cut trees, they'd been taken down by axes at their base, broken branches from their fall lay strewn about the area.

"No patrols? No scouts? No watch? What is this?" Lakyus asked.

Evileye frowned behind her. "I'm not sure. Either they have magical detection systems in place that we don't recognize, or they're not here anymore, or they don't have enough people for anything but occasionally sweeping the forest and killing those they find."

"Tia, Tina, can you scout the other side of the bank, see if you can find anything...don't engage, just observe and withdraw to report." Lakyus said.

"We can." They said together, and jumped to the other side of the river, as they disappeared into the forest, Gagaran, Lakyus, and Evileye took seats with their backs up against trees to wait for the twins to return.

Evileye enjoyed the quiet they shared, but something bothered her. "Gagaran, could you gather some materials to build us a shelter, we might need to stay here overnight, depending on what the twins find."

"Sure thing." The hulking woman said, "Probably a good idea, I'll get to it now." She said as she stood and began walking away.

As soon as they were alone Evileye turned and looked at Lakyus, her face bare of the mask but wearing ample emotion, her red eyes boring into the side of Lakyus's face as the woman looked down and fiddled with her water skin, pretending to be urgently thirsty.

"Lakyus, look at me." Evileye said forcefully.

Lakyus didn't look at first.

"Look at me sister." Evileye said again.

With visible and poorly concealed reluctance, Lakyus looked over and met the vampire's eyes.

"I thought you were OK with this?" She said softly. "Are you...having second thoughts?" She said, not able to completely hide her anxiety.

Lakyus shook her head, "No..no...not that." She said.

"Then what?" Evileye asked seriously.

"Its just..look...I'd war against the heavens for you as readily as I would beside you, but...this is all just a bit much to take in. It was a shock before, but it is starting to sink in, and I just can't...how do I say this...I can't just turn off all the thoughts I had. I see you look at me and I wonder if you're seeing food. I hear your intelligent suggestions and I think, 'only a vampire would say that'." Lakyus shook her head and lowered her eyes.

"I do accept you, of course I do, I love you. But its going to take me some time to get used to knowing what I know, I can't just turn it off. I want to. But I don't know how." Lakyus said, deep apology filling her voice.

Evileye didn't answer, she just kept her eyes on the woman she'd lived with for so long.

"Tell me to prove it, and I'd put my neck under your bite, if that is what it takes to prove to you what I promise you, you ARE my sister. I'd even let you take my blood if that was what it took to show that I trust you not to end my life that way...but believe me, it isn't you who is the problem, its just...letting go of the things that were a part of me...THAT is the problem. "Lakyus said in a low but passionately insistent voice.

Evileye looked away as Lakyus was able to meet her gaze again. "I understand." Evileye said, "Perhaps I was expecting to much to soon."

"I guess so. But I'm getting there." Lakyus said, and went to Evileye and gave her a hug again, casually baring her neck to the vampire, trying to still the thought screaming at the bak of her mind, "Vampire! She'll bite you!" she loathed the thought as it swirled around in her mind and forced herself to stay that way for awhile longer.

She eventually sat back against the tree, and that was when Tia nd Tina returned.

"We have a problem." They said together, just as Gagaran was returning with some materials for improvised shelters. "There are lots of them out there." They said in unison.

"Lots of what and how many are 'lots'?" Gagaran asked.

"Humans, paladins, squires, and others I didn't recognize, probably mercenaries." Tia said.

"Also some magic casters, priests, this is a large group." Tina added.

"And it gets worse." Tia added.

"Worse?" Lakyus asked. "How?"

"They're growing." Tina said. "We scouted the outside of their camp, from what we could tell, it has expanded outwards from a core position."

"How many?" Evileye asked.

"About three thousand strong." Tina said.

"So they've been killing the hunters and trappers to keep their position secret." Gagaran said.

"No." Tia said.

"Maybe they've done that to some, but it looks like they've been capturing them, we saw several holding areas." Tina added.

"How many prisoners?" Lakyus asked.

"Without going inside, hard to say, but at a guess they could hold around two hundred in the ones we saw." Tia said cautiously.

"How many would it take to capture the city?" Gagaran asked Lakyus.

Lakyus thought it over cautiously, "A competent general could take that city as it is now, with five thousand men. An excellent one, with three thousand or fewer. If they have traitors inside, two thousand or less." She said thoughtfully as she scratched her cheek.

"This is starting to make sense." Evileye said.

"What do you mean?" Gagaran asked.

"We know this city is dependent on the forests for their revenue. By setting up in this forest these hidden forces are able to not only stay hidden, but also bleed dry the wealth of the nobility, leaving them less and less to contribute to the wealth of the city. Without the necessary funds, the guard suffers, shifts get skipped, guards get let go, quality declines. Plus they're in a forest, they can catch game, forage, and so on, and their actions incite tensions in the city, its not hard to imagine that they have agents...in...the city...and a sinking feeling began to grow in the pits of the stomachs of Blue Rose.

**AN: Yes yes I know, longer chapters and all. 'lol' You'll get some long ones eventually, but I'm just wrapping this story up soon, and its late, and I'm tired. Like it, review, don't like it, review, reviews are my midnight snack. :) **


	14. Enemy in Front

"We've got to get back." Evileye said under her breath, before putting her mask back on.

"Now." Tia and Tina said together.

"Move." Lakyus said, and the party took off swiftly as the wind and silently as a slow moving river, they dashed through the woods without stopping, the training and power of adamantite level adventurers making that much to be just child's play even in armor and carrying weapons, they didn't so much as tire themselves out, nor did they break unity, the long experience of working together telling the without even looking, how quickly each should move to maintain cohesion. Hours later they reached the city, they didn't slow down when they saw the walls, they didn't slow down when they reached the gate, they didn't slow down when they were through the gate, they rushed at breakneck speed through the streets, until the crowds were to thick, then leapt to the roofs of the homes and businesses beside them, and used the rooftops as a road of their own, and went all the way to the inner gate, this time not bothering with the gate itself, but leaping to the top of that wall from the last rooftop and then going from the wall to the ground inside the inner keep. They dashed through the the door without so much as a by your leave and raced to the inner chamber, into the center of government, in to the throne room of the former Marquis. The chair was now empty, and in front of the throne room was a table where several people were seated, an improvised conference. At the head of the table sat the Viscount Yamoc, and the sound of entry had snapped his head up in outrage, which snuffed out like a candle covered by a glass when he saw that it was Blue Rose, and they had alarmed expressions on their faces.

Lakyus stepped forward.

"My lord, there is an army out there." She said directly.

The table turned pale.

"What...?" He said, disbelieving his own ears.

"There is an army out there. Tia and Tina scouted it themselves, at least three thousand strong, possibly more, and growing. They're responsible for the disappearances, without any doubt. At a guess they're going out and searching for traps and hunting positions, waiting until the owners return, then snatching them up, we did find one body, but it appears many are simply captives. They're destabilizing your city to weaken it, and then when its weak enough, they intend to attack." Lakyus said.

"Can you defeat them?" He asked.

The members of Blue Rose looked at one another, calculating how many they could handle on their own.

"Its hard to say just how many we could each defeat without knowing their individual strength, but we can't fight an entire army by ourselves, they have priests, paladins, squires, magic casters, this is a well equipped force, not some band of bandits." Tia said.

"We can hold 'a' position, we can raid, weaken, slow them down, but we can't fight them all." Tina added.

"How many soldiers do you have for the entire city?" Gagaran asked.

Yamoc looked to the table's attendants. Gneaus spoke up, "We have roughly five hundred men currently under arms, roughly half our normal full time strength, there are...nominally, one thousand five hundred part time reserves, however due the damaged state of equipment and the shortage of funds to pay them for their training, most have not drilled in almost half a year, and we have only enough weapons in reserve to arm half of those anyway. So our best fielded force would contain one thousand two hundred and fifty soldiers, not counting the support of a handful of priests to keep them healed, and our mages guild out for the city having only ten full time occupants. There are only about twenty adventurers in this city at any given time, none above iron ranked, and of those, ten disappeared when hired to investigate the forest disappearances...which I suppose we now know the root of. The remaining ten, being part of the guild, cannot be counted on to fight and will probably choose to leave the city to remain neutral." He said, reciting the facts in a cool and even manner even as his fingers shook as they tapped the table nervously.

"What about Black Justice?" Evileye asked. "Would they fight? Combat training is part of their religion. They should be somewhat proficient by now at least."

Ulthis Ndarion turned his chair so that they could see his face as he spoke, and Evileye mentally sighed with relief to see him present, representing a significant change to the outcast status of the city's minority religion. "That is harder to answer. In the abortive riot the priests of the old gods incited, a dozen Black Justice members were killed for their faith. My followers see them as martyrs, the feelings they have are hard ones when it comes to the rest of the population. Also, many are more recent converts, if everyone who was as skilled as a militia man fought, that would add three thousand to the city's forces. If all those who were rated at professional grade fought, that would add only about five hundred. The rest, though armed, are not yet well trained, you could potentially add about six thousand, if we exclude children, pregnant women, and the old."

"That is considerable." The Viscount said.

"On paper only." Ulthis said. "A mass of men without proper training and leadership is no more an army than a heap of building materials is a house. If that army out there is well trained, well equipped, and well lead, you're still out numbered even with all of us together, and that is assuming all of them are willing." His voice took on a dark tone. "The deaths made them angry, I've had many come to temple and ask what is to be done about it, they're bitter, angry, they didn't like being blamed for what they didn't do. I could see many of them preferring to just abandon the city to its fate than defend the people who turned on them. Realistically speaking, only half would be willing even if I set the example by doing so myself."

"Are you?" Evileye asked.

"Am I what?" He asked.

"Going to set the example by defending the city?" Evileye explained.

The table's eyes turned to Ulthis intently.

He bowed his head, "I will. I don't like what happened, but this is still my city, I fled my last home because there was no chance to win, but I will not flee again. This is where I stand."

Yamoc breathed a sigh of relief that was shared by Gneaus and the others seated at the table.

"You can't order them to fight?" Lakyus asked?

"No." Ulthis said. "It is a tenet of our faith not only to pursue strength, but to choose how to apply it for ourselves, we pride our dedication to personal conscience and will. We submit that only to the impossible strength, the Sorcerer King is the only one we can never surpass, therefore only he can command us as a general does his armies, even I who command the temple, cannot compel, only advise, rebuke, and request."

"Damn. That is inconvenient." Gagaran said.

Ulthis managed a laugh. "You have no idea. But the Sorcerer King says that blind obedience and subservience to priests is a weakness of the mind, and such mental weakness makes members ripe for abuse of trust. Therefore he has wisely limited the authority and position of the priesthood."

"Still, they'll mostly listen to you?" Lakyus asked.

"I think they will." Ulthis replied.

"That is something. Do you think they'll attack soon?" The Viscount asked.

"They don't know we've spotted them, so probably not, they'll continue to gather strength and let the city weaken, but what really worries me is betrayal." Lakyus said.

The faces at the table went dark.

"I think they have insiders here, monitoring what is going on." Lakyus said.

"Why do you think that?" Yamoc asked.

"Its common sense, its easier to take a city when people inside it are on your side rather than the side of the city itself." Lakyus said.

"What do you propose we do?" He asked.

"Diversion. Tell me, have you buried your daughter yet?" Lakyus asked.

Yamoc's face turned to one of pain. "No, not yet."

"And are you going to be in charge of the city in place of the Marquis?" Lakyus asked.

"I haven't been officially confirmed, but the officials left behind by the Marquis have endorsed me as such on a provisional basis." He replied, and the table nodded roundly.

A plump well dressed man spoke up, "Absent any other important contenders, we've chosen to settle important issues as a council first, then when his daughter is properly buried and mourned, we had planned on official confirmation and a requesting a letter of appointment by the crown at the end of one month."

"I understand." Lakyus said, "Then I suggest this. We cannot let it out that we know the army is out there, but we need to have people under arms and preparing to fight, and we need to ensure that the avenues of approach are not protected. Declare thirty days of burning, the smoke to carry your daughter's soul to heaven, and command those able, to go to the edge of the forest and cut it back to bring wood for pyres, with a reward for the highest and longest burning for that time. This will disguise that you're preparing for a siege. Also declare thirty days of games in celebration of her life, and focus upon combat, you can provide wooden weapons easily enough to provide some impromptu training, and create matches all throughout the city, for all those able bodied enough to run, shoot, or fight."

"Clever." Yamoc said.

"You can burn the Marquis in effigy every day as well to condemn his actions, declare it a yearly rite, the burning of the Marquis, a ritual disposal of unworthy leaders, and set many of them in front of the city walls on the forest side, the smoke will also help hide anything else in case anyone comes to scout the unusual activity from outside." Lakyus said as she improvised a plan.

"That won't change what we can actually provide when it comes to armaments for fighting though." He said.

"No, but there is one who can do that." Evileye added.

"Gustav Montagne. He's out hunting renegade paladins himself, if we get word to him that there is a large renegade force in that forest, he'll turn his army this way without a second thought." Lakyus said.

"That's right!" Gagaran said with a snap of her fingers. "He has over one thousand men at arms under his banner, which means he also has to have enough weapons to replace damaged ones and people with him to provide maintenance and repairs. He can fix your damaged equipment and provide enough to arm all the rest."

Yamoc began to run the numbers through his head, "So...if we dug to the very bottom of the barrel for skill and Gustav comes and extends his resources to our defense, his one thousand...plus the fifteen hundred reserves...plus the remaining five hundred full timers...plus five hundred Black Justice professionals and about three thousand militia grade...we have about six thousand five hundred able bodied fighters, excluding the handful of magic casters and adventurers who may or may not participate." He said as he ticked off one resource after another on his fingers, his voice took on a hopeful note.

"That isn't bad, especially fighting on the defensive. It doesn't take a lot of training to pour boiling water on someone, or to push a ladder away from a wall, so we can probably conscript about a thousand citizens as well for security." Yamoc said. "I just wish we knew the relative skill of what we were facing." He said.

"I would assume it to be high, they have maintained field discipline, they're not lighting fires, their camp is organized, they're effectively keeping your citizens out and nobody has escaped their net until us." Lakyus said. "If I were to hazard a professional estimate, I would say that on average, each one of them is probably worth three to five militia and two of the average professionals, but probably no more than equal to one to one for Gustav's forces, which they outnumber."

"So their effective numbers are roughly double their actual numbers." Yamoc said flatly.

"Shit." He said when Lakyus nodded.

"We can slow them down though." Tia said.

"Quite a bit actually." Tina added.

"How so?" Yamoc asked.

"Well, we can create traps on the open field to slow down an advance on the city, pits, sharp stakes, things that will force them to improvise slow down." Tia said.

"And we can ambush them in the forest as well if we use a handful of people." Tina added.

"An army can only move as fast as its slowest element, and it moves even slower through woods, its vulnerable, you could buy days of time if you are willing to suffer a few losses." Lakyus said.

There were some unpleasant looks around the table.

"Thank you for this information." Yamoc said, and he stood up ramrod straight, and bowed to Blue Rose. "You may have saved our city." He added.

The members of Blue Rose inclined their heads politely.

"We'll take your advice on what to do, and when the smoke is high enough to obscure your work, please do what you can to create traps along the avenue of march to the walls. Conscript the criminals from our prisons if you need them, tell them they'll take half off their sentences for each pit they dig to your specifications." Yamoc said.

"We'll do it." Tia and Tina said at once.

The members of Blue Rose left the chamber after that and set about their tasks, that very day various declarations were made about the burnings and the tournaments, and smoke was rising high before noon. That night, Tia and Tina went to the prisons and took prisoners out in groups of four and began overseeing the creation of deadfalls and stakes, though the prisoners were relatively few in number, working in teams they were able to quickly create and camoflauge with thin sticks and a dirt cover. The prisoners were grinning ear to ear as they worked, some taking years off their sentence in a matter of a few hours.

Well before dawn, the field beyond the city was littered with deadly traps running the length of the wall. Lakyus had immediately borrowed a scroll from Ulthis and had word passed to the capitol, which in turn passed the message to Gustav, who in turn confirmed he was wheeling his force west to their position and he would arrive in one week at a forced march, two at a regular pace.

The next few days were heady ones, with constant action going on within the city, the rewards being offered for 'tournament performance' had driven the city into a frenzy of martial spirit leading up to what would be the climax at the end of the month, the burning of the Marquis in countless effigies had become a celebratory event, and the Viscount opened the stores of the Marquis liquor, years worth stored in large barrels, was being given away to keep people happy and content. Tia and Tina routinely scouted the positions in the deep woods, their swift ninja skills being on full display...meaning they were all but invisible to everyone save their sisters, and their swiftness served them well, they reported the continued and accelerated growth of the army's forces, and after seven days, they reported something profoundly disturbing.

"They're moving." Tia said to the council.

"Away?" Yamoc asked hopefully.

"No." Tina replied. "To you."

"They've started cutting a path in your direction, we saw them start to break camp." Tia said.

"They'll probably be ready to go by morning." Tina added.

"How long till they arrive?" He asked.

"If they slow to continue to take on reinforcements and insist on carving a path through the woods to get to you, two days." Tia said.

"Less if they don't." Tina added.

"Why now..." Yamoc asked himself.

"You've got a double agent in here." Lakyus said. "There is no two ways about it. Someone in the city figured it out and got word to them."

"We'd better dramatically increase the gate guards." He said.

"Yes, you'd better." Evileye agreed dryly.

"And while you're at it...well, they know you know they're there now. They're not waiting anymore, you'd better start hitting them in the forest and slowing them down as much as you can. Every time they have to fight, the entire army is hampered, you might be able to buy another day." Gagaran said.

Yamoc nodded. "It will be done." He said.

An hour later twenty men were gathered together and standing in front of Yamoc, they were armored with hardened leather, bows, spears, and swords, behind Yamoc stood a man with a scroll. As he moved from one man to the next, each man gave his name, and the man recorded it on the scroll along with a brief description of what he looked like. When they were done, Yamoc stood centered in front of them. "You know what you're going to do. You're going out into the great wood, you're going to raid the lines of the army approaching us, you're going to slow them down, do not engage in pitched fighting, they will kill you quickly if you do that, hide, raid, run. Slow them down, buy time, start fires, force them to expend magic and time. Do whatever you can to keep them back for as long as you can." Yamoc said.

He lowered his head to them and said, "What you do may mean your deaths, but it may also bring life to your city, we will ensure you have not sacrificed yourselves in vain, and you will be recorded as heroes for as long as this city has one brick sitting atop another, we will not forget your lives, and we will not forget the lives of those you leave behind. Your children and wives are recorded on the rolls, when the battle is over, they will be provided for out of the city's funds down to the third generation."

"Go, and carry our hope for survival with you." Yamoc said, and he bowed to the silent men, holding his bow until the last one passed out of the great hall.

When they were gone, Blue Rose left their position and approached him.

"How effective do you think they will be?" He asked Lakyus.

"Hard to say. All they have to do is slow the enemy down. If they alternate between targeting those clearing the path and targeting supplies, and break up in to small enough groups, well I'd be pleased with one day, but any more than two is pushing luck a bit to far. If the commander of the enemy has any brains at all, they'll put out scouts after the first few path clearers fall, and they'll increase supply guards and send out scouts to counter the attacks, that will keep the slowing down from being successful for much longer...but we might get lucky." Lakyus said as she considered the matter critically.

When the men were gone into the woods, that was when Yamoc made the announcement to the public, he spoke from the walls and sent written orders to the criers.

"The source of the disappearances has been found!" He said as he stood before a gathered crowd. That had their attention.

"The source of it all has been an army, thousands strong hiding in the wood and ruining our lives to weaken our city before taking it, now they are done hiding, and they are marching here!" This set people to shouting and the voices began to rise, "What will we do?!" Someone shouted.

"We fight! This is OUR city, we will NOT give it up to renegades! Help is on the way! Gustav Montagne, hero of the war with Jaldabaoth, marches to our aid with one thousand of his best men, they come with weapons enough to rearm our forces, and for these last few days you have been preparing for combat, you need only HOLD THE WALL!" He said.

"Every man and woman who fought in tournaments these last few days, go to the central square for your block to be registered and assigned, given a position, equipment, and a weapon! Those who did not, through age or infirmity who cannot work, return to your homes, those who can still work, report to the armory to begin fletching arrows and preparing equipment for battle. This is not a fight for glory, this is not a fight for wealth, this is a fight to determine if you live or die, and whatever you do, you will do as ONE!" He shouted.

Quietly he blessed the recent death of the Marquis, with him dead and replaced, and Yamoc's own loss at the hands of the fallen ruler, the people were at his back, he had a degree of trust simply by virtue of not being Ysude. Nurtured carefully, he could make use of that to stiffen resolve.

Ulthis Ndarion for his part, had returned to the temple where countless Black Justice members filtered back and forth at his request for round the clock services.

"Our god does not care for prayers, but for deeds, he counts your character not by your words, but by your deeds, he counts your virtue by your choices, and your strength by its display. This is our city, how can we not fight for it?" He asked.

"This city killed us! It persecuted us! Why shouldn't we simply leave it?!" A man snapped out. "My wife is dead because of those riots, they dragged her body through the street like a dead dog! Let it burn!"

Ulthis lowered his head sympathetically, "I will not deny your right to feel as you do, and one bad turn may deserve another, but you do not have to fight for this city, instead choose to fight for one another. That army out there can have only one purpose, to punish US. Who else but Black Justice foes would do as they are doing, will you run away from our enemies, will you leave your congregation of brothers and sisters here to die on their swords?!" Ulthis snapped out.

"I cannot compel you to do as I would have you do, but when our nation was going to burn in demonic fire, what did the Sorcerer King do? He came to us and broke the fire, he had no reason to fight for us, how can we, how have reason to fight for one another if not for this city, do less than he? How can we be worthy of him, if we do not even try to emulate him where it matters most?!" Ulthis asked passionately.

From one service to the next this process was repeated as he sought volunteers from Black Justice members to support the military rank and file. He was, in a word, persuasive, and within a day most of the men and women had chosen to take up arms and follow him.

Blue Rose stood on the highest roof point of the city they could and watched the scurrying around below. "Its impressive, isn't it?" Lakyus asked.

"What is that?" Asked Evileye.

"The way people can work together when something matters to enough of them." Lakyus clarified.

"I think so." Gagaran said. "If only it didn't take the threat of extermination to make it happen."

"Agreed." The twins said.

"Its why I want to go see the Sorcerer Kingdom after this is over. Commonton and Foundoton are growing closer, they're creating something new even across borders, as well as within their own walls. I want to, no, need, to see what is happening where it has been going on the longest." Evileye said.

"I'm more curious about Nazarick, Neia spoke of it like a paradise, the impossible things she learned, what she's become from who she was, its like a lifetime of change in a few months. What could do that?" Lakyus asked, mystified, and shook her head.

"The first group has gone out to start their raids now, by the way. So Tia, Tina, do you want to lend a hand? Probe them a little bit, return with information on their skills and methods." Lakyus said.

"On it boss." The two ninjas said and became a blur as they went out.

"Gagaran, you should take a position on the wall. Just you being there should give them a positive state of mind." Lakyus said.

"On it! I'll see you after!" Gagaran said with her customary enthusiasm and she hopped down and began to stroll over to the wall without any apparent rush.

"What about me?" Evileye asked.

"You're with me." Lakyus said.

Evileye looked at her in confusion, and then Lakyus turned to her, glad that nobody could see them where they stood. She reached out with both hands to the the face of her sister, and Evileye flinched a little. Lakyus paused, then slowly moved her hands closer again, and took the mask, and removed it, baring Evileye's face to her again. Blood red eyes met deep blue and Lakyus forced herself to meet the most dangerous gaze, that which could hold a mortal fast, steal their mind, and make them glad to feed the monster's hunger, was instead of fear, given deepest willing trust.

"I want you with me sister, because now that I know...what you are...please...don't take this wrong." She paused, fumbling for words, "Its different. I know you're actually the same Evileye I've always known, but when I see those eyes, those fangs, I still feel the old feelings about vampires, have the old sense of hate rise up, and I don't want to feel those things anymore." Her eyes brimmed with tears, "You're my sister, no matter what else you are, and I have to purge those things away, they're like bile in my gut and all I want to do is vomit them out onto the ground and grind them into the dust and forget I ever had them. That way I can look at you and only ever see my sister." Evileye listened intently, but didn't say a word.

"I feel like...if we fight again together the way we had before, and we do so now that I know, you know...what you are," Lakyus's body trembled as if cold, when all it really was, was fear, fear of hurting her sister, fear of driving her away, fear of being who she was again, "then it will help me start over, it will help me see you the way I should, the way a sister is supposed to, the way you see me. Fighting together will, I think, help me make this right, and make me alright the way I should be..." She looked down at the mask.

Evileye smiled, her fangs poking out, and she reached out and lifted Lakyus's chin, bringing their eyes together again. Lakyus was shaking violently with her discomfort as she struggled to express what she wanted to say. "Lakyus...sister, its alright, we'll fight together again, and I'm as honored as always to do so. The only place I'll ever go is to your side, I never want to stray from it, in life...unlife...or life and death struggles. This rose blooms with all its petals, and not one will ever fall away. Be at ease, I know you're trying, and that makes my still heart beat enough." Eviley whispered to her, and slowly took back her mask and put it on. "However, under the circumstances, I should probably keep this on, you know, for them." She said as she gestured to the busy city.

Lakyus cracked a fragile smile. "Lets get some rest for now, we can sleep up here, together. Gagaran will nap at the wall, and the twins won't be back for hours or more."

They unrolled their bed rolls atop the tower, and Evileye quickly fell into a deep slumber. Lakyus lay troubled for a time as she looked at the sleeping vampire, wondering if Evileye had ever hungered for her blood, and hating herself in that moment for the thought crossing her mind, and cursed herself silently, hoping that a river of blood from those marching on the city, would cleanse her of the remnants of a version of herself that she now saw as worse than just wrong, it was bad.

The dawn broke and still no army had appeared, but the city's activity had not slackened. Great rolls of arrows lay in intervals along the walls, water was being put into large iron pots at the gate and fires were being lit beneath them. None of the twenty who had gone out had come back. A few hours later as Lakyus and Evileye were watching from the top of a tower, they found it in themselves to hope that the enemy army would be delayed another full day, and a rider was dispatched to ascertain how close Gustav was to the city.

As it turned out, they were half right. Halfway through the day, Tia and Tina returned, they parted ways briefly, Tia to report to Yamoc, while Tina came to Lakyus.

"What have you got?" Lakyus asked.

"Well they are not as many as they were, but they're still many, they did get reinforced, they're over five thousand strong." Tina said.

"Skills?" Lakyus asked.

"Good." Tina said. "Not adamantite good. But good enough to take this place." She added.

"And the twenty?" Lakyus asked.

"They're dead. Very dead. But they did their part very bravely." Tina said.

"Prisoners?" Lakyus asked.

"They were left behind under a light guard, Tia and I eliminate the guard and freed them, they're now taking the long way around, and will wait to link up with Gustav Montagne when he arrives." Tina said.

"Well the city is to large to completely surround, so that is something, they'll either have to fight him before he gets here, or they'll have to let him through." Lakyus said.

"Which do you think they'll do?" Evileye asked.

"If it were me, I would send two thousand of my people to fight him off, while the rest bottlenecked the city at the gate to prevent reinforcements." Lakyus said.

That was when they heard the boom. A boom like thunder, but the day was cloudless, it took a moment to realize what it was, it was a drum. On the edge of the forest, they could hear movement and clanking armor, and an army stepped out of the woods like ghosts from the mists of the moors.

"Well...this day is going to be a long one." Lakyus said somewhat sardonically.

"For the lucky ones." Evileye said from behind her mask.

"Then lets get lucky, sisters." Lakyus said with a broad smile at her rare but dark salacious humor, which prompted a laugh of surprise from Tina and Evileye as they jumped down from the tower to get to work.

**AN: Well this one was fun! :) The siege is about to get under way, there are some more surprises in store, but I did leave a clue or two about what it was in an earlier chapter. Some of you might have gotten it, some of you not, but either way I hope you enjoy the ride as we approach the final chapter of Unholy Rose. :) Also, reviews feed me, don't let me starve. ;) **


	15. The End Begins

When the ranks of soldiers stood in front of the city, any doubts anyone had about the nature of the threat were quickly erased. They stood with halberds and spears glinting terribly in the noonday sun, as if to reflect the fear of their enemies back upon them. Yamoc mounted the stairs of the tower and went to the top of the wall, he climbed up on two stones that made up part of the crenelations, and put his back to the enemy, he held up his sword to draw their eyes.

"People of Kedyn, there is but little time to spare before battle is joined, but for the brave, a few words are as good as many, and for the coward, infinite words will not create courage where there is none, so I will be brief! Your enemy is in front of you, come and kill and burn all that you have built. Your families are behind you, and it falls to you and no other, whether they live or die. There is only ONE thing I ask of you, one thing your loved ones need of you, ONE thing you must do if you wish the children of this city to see another dawn!" His voice was loud, deep, and echoed from wall to wall, carried by a fortuitous wind, the citizens of the city who bore arms were held spellbound by the Viscount as they waited for his order.

He inhaled deeply, and bellowed the last line out as loudly as he could. "Hold the wall! Hold the wall! Hold the wall! Even if you die, die as a barrier! HOLD...THIS...WALL!" Yamoc shouted, he let loose a battle cry and stabbed at the sky with his sword, where the points of the enemy beyond wished the gleaming blades they held to reflect fear, the Viscount's shining edge reflected back the best of them, the best of all mankind who were prepared to die for something more than petty personal survival. The earth shattering cheers threatened to demolish the wall they were eager to defend, and in like fashion they stabbed at the sky with weapons of their own, holding them up, their fears extinguished for the moment, all vice burned away in the terrible crucible of necessity, where life only matters if it can still be spent in noble cause.

A terrible part of Yamoc's mind thought that this would be the greatest moment of his life, even if he was only hours away from his death. He was, after a fashion, correct, as an arrow loosed front he enemy ranks flew out at the opportunely presented back of the Viscount, and in a one in a million chance, struck a gap in his armor, penetrating him under his arm and sinking into his chest.

Yamoc staggered off the the place where he had been standing, his insult to this unfamiliar enemy being answered with his life, yet even in that moment he showed his virtue, and and with his lung not penetrated he managed to shout, "That's one less arrow against the rest of you! Now HOLD THAT WALL!" Then he fell forward the rest of the way into the shocked arms of two of his men, who urgently carried him away from danger as his his eyes closed.

Perhaps the attackers had intended to inspire fear, what they succeeded in inspiring was rage. Though the attackers summoned angels and sent them to the wall to cover the ground attackers, even with superior numbers they were not all capable of doing as they wished, and the unopposed areas of the wall were free to send arrows into the advancing number. Gagaran stood atop the wall and waited patiently, occasionally destroying an angel as it came to close to her, and under the protection of angels, the ground troops advanced bearing ladders to the walls.

Those ground troops however, were made slow by the butchers bill they found themselves paying, beginning with a single shriek that was cut short as a man fell into the deadfall, it was quickly added to by others, at first they tried to just march through it and take the losses to get to the wall quickly, but soon they realized at each wing, they would have to go slow, and as they went slow, the archers on the wall punished them for their slowness, the many shields offered some protection, but here and there an arrow found its mark, a scream began and did not stop, or was less lucky and it began and was cut short immediately thereafter by a quick death.

"Tina, link up with Tia and help defend the wall to the right of Gagaran, focus on the angels, those basically double their numbers and are endless as long as there is more mana to spare, Evileye and I will do the same on the left of her." Lakyus said, and Tina quickly sped off, while Evileye and Lakyus did the same, heading towards the wall as fast as they could.

Black Justice earned its reputation in the city that day, their one handed methods made them theoretically vulnerable to arrows, but when the ladders came close, they frequently used their free hand to take control of their opponent by grabbing his shield, more than one man climbed up the wall only to be pulled so hard forward that he stumbled to his death by falling off the edge and right down into the city itself. Meanwhile a ram was marched to the city gate along with two thousand soldiers behind it. "Evileye!" Lakyus shouted, "We've got to stop that ram, the city can't stop a breach!" She gestured with her demonic blade and cut down a renegade paladin. "I'm behind you sister!" Evileye shouted and they rushed along the wall, up above the gate. The ram was hanging suspended within a roof shaped cover made of wood, and wet leather to minimize damage by fire from above, it rolled on large wheels roughly the height of a grown man at the shoulder, it was sturdy enough as far as it looked at least. But either way, how much damage the gate could sustain, Evileye was uncertain.

"Crystal Wall!" Evileye shouted, and a wall of crystal presented itself, this thing had stood up to the punch of a demon maid, at least temporarily, she was sure as it appeared in front of the ram, that it could sustain a few blows. "Shard buckshot!" she shouted, and crystal shards slammed hard into the massed target. She was now a major threat, and the soldiers responded by summoning angels to keep her distracted.

Lakyus compensated by using unleashing waves of darkness from Kilineiram, and summoned her floating swords to strike at those hiding under the protection of the cover for the ram.

The soldiers atop the gate poured boiling water, and the screams of the people struck by it carried all the way to the top of the wall with great ease. It would have been disturbing, but the two petals of Blue Rose were suddenly distracted by the sound of a new booming noise, and the banner of the official Paladin Order was high in the distance. The long awaited Gustav had made his appearance. Evileye's excellent vision let her see what was coming before anyone else, and while she was relieved, she was also confused. That had to be Gustav, and some of the men with him were clearly paladins and their squires, but their numbers of those were fewer, perhaps half what she expected, too, she saw along the flanking positions there were others who wore a different armor, they wore red, as opposed to white, and carried a different banner. They were not many, perhaps only two hundred strong, but they moved well and held their lines firm, and it augmented the diminished numbers to roughly seven hundred. Some fifteen hundred of the two thousand sent to take the gate, whirled to meet this new threat, while the remainder focused on the gate.

With only Evileye and Lakyus, along with a handful of a hundred to two hundred men to hold the gate, it was not a pretty situation. Even an adamantite adventurer was not a god, and an arrow in the eye would kill an adamantite human as easily as it would a copper plate. But vampiric strength and speed and a blade of darkness cut through weaker foes like butter, while Fel Iron wrought a terrible cost in mana as Gagaran's prodigious strength swatted them away like flies. Yet every time the city maneuvered troops to one position to strengthen it, the enemy beyond the wall bolstered the opposite position, keeping the defenders jumping back and forth. Hundreds of the dead were pulled back and replaced with the living, and hundreds of others fell before the wall without ever setting foot on its stones.

Gustav Montagne was out numbered, Evileye and Lakyus could both see that, but neither could they do anything about it. If it mattered to him one way or another, he gave no sign of it as he ordered his men to advance. Red armored man clashed with white, the latter usually outperforming the former, but they were not without cost of their own, and the seven hundred became six hundred and fifty. Evileye took a moment to turn her eye to the sky, the sun was their ally, the people on the walls were growing tired, they needed time, they needed nightfall.

_...In Nazarick..._

"What did you think of my little trick with the wind my lord?" Demiurge asked his lord.

"Nicely done Demiurge, I'm sure they heard every word Yamoc said. Cocytus, do you think they have a chance?" Ainz said, looking over to the insectoid warrior.

"I find their fighting spirit admirable, but...if the battle continues for much longer, no, they are outnumbered and except for the adamantite adventurers, of roughly equal skill, or slightly imbalanced in the favor of the aggressors." He said confidently.

"Well it wouldn't do for a city filled with my followers to be slaughtered, then I'd be no different from these false gods the people here are so fond of, and who serves a god who does nothing all day?" Ainz said casually.

Demiurge folded his arm in front of him and bowed, "It is as you say my lord Ainz, it would stain Nazarick for those we support to be defeated, but we cannot do all for them either."

"May this humble and worthless servant offer a suggestion?" Sebas asked.

Ainz gestured with one hand out and palm up, "Of course Sebas, what do you propose?"

"These people both need a miracle to survive, and desire a miracle in order to know their faith is not misplaced, so may I propose we give them what they need? Let us give them darkness and force an end to the fight for the day, the rest will give them time, and that is enough for now."

Ainz laughed, "Very good suggestion Sebas, that is the kind of thinking I treasure in my servants. It is proof that you have grown. Lord Touch me would be proud of you."

"You humble me my lord." Sebas replied.

Ainz thought the matter over and then selected a spell as he watched the scene play out before him, and then his memory flashed back to the battle against Nigun, and he settled on the spell to use.

He pointed to an area of the battlefield where the fighting was most intense and said, "Black Hole".

_...At the Battle of Kedyn...front lines..._

The angels were a problem, they just kept coming and augmented the men on foot, and despite excellent showing, the tide was turning against the defenders, Ulthis was praying for a miracle as his vampiric strength ripped apart another angel and he kicked yet another ladder away from the wall just as a man was about to step off of it. The man's face was a comical mix of disbelief and horror as the ladder came away from the wall, slowly tilting backwards, until it was to far and it fell back to the ground with the man screaming "ohhhhh shiiiii..." before he could finish the word, he was dead.

Then Ulthis got the miracle he prayed for...a single black dot appeared in the air near the center of the battle, and a moment's common question from both armies was answered when the angels were uniformly sucked into the dark point as if it were an all consuming void, and when it vanished the sky turned black, the stars were out, and it was no longer possible to fight without easily accidentally killing one's own allies. This prompted the enemy fighting Gustav, as well as Gustav himself, to use drums to call their forces to orderly withdrawal, and the ram moved away just after it shattered the crystal wall. All that work for nothing.

The sudden darkness was a welcome relief and a huge boost to the city. Ulthis was quick to take advantage of the occasion, "Black Justice, our god has heard my prayer, he has given us this miracle, this darkness that our strength may be preserved, the battle is OURS to win, but we have the power of the Sorcerer King favoring us, the darkness is his gift, that we not be overrun by those who would take our lives, now tend your wounds and prepare for tomorrow, for when the dawn comes, we will have to prove ourselves worthy once again, and as Viscount Yamoc has said, I tell you now again, "Hold the wall!"

"Hold the wall!" The cheer was taken up, even those who could only gasp out a whisper, whispered "hold the wall..." as they fell exhausted against the wall they vowed to protect, and dropped to the stone beneath them to rest.

Evileye and Lakyus stood together in silence, enjoying a brief moment alone.

"So...was it different fighting next to a vampire?" Evileye asked.

"No, not at all." Lakyus said with relief. "I felt only yourself when I was near you, your skill with magic as worthy as ever...I think this is going to only get easier for me as we go along." Lakyus gave her a thin and fragile smile.

Evileye took off her mask, comfortable in their quiet moment, and gave Lakyus a broad grin, "I know, but I also know everything will be just fine. So just take your time and become comfortable with me as you now know I've always been, and when you're ready to embrace me again without any of the fears and thoughts coming up, just tell me, and I'll be here." The woman of legend replied.

They might have conversed for longer, but Lakyus said, "We should speak with Ulthis, I saw him taking over control over some of the battle, we need to know what we've lost, and it looks like Gustav has finished reforming his lines for the march and is going to be able to enter the city unopposed. I'd rather talk to Ulthis before we deal with a paladin we don't know. Besides," Lakyus looked embarassed, "I owe him a real apology."

That sealed the issue for Evileye, and they set out to go meet with the priest of Black Justice, casually telling several soldiers to open the gate when Gustav's men reached it, and close it right after.

When they found where he was, they saw Cercei, Yamoc's wife, was kneeling in front of him, and they heard her finish speaking, "...on my name, my life, my unlife, I swear this oath." She said with deep conviction in her voice.

"I'm...sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt." Lakyus said, drawing a look of surprise from Ulthis at the courtesy she was now showing to him.

"Its alright." Ulthis said politely, "We just finished, the Viscountess here chose to take the Black Justice oath and join us." He watched to see how Lakyus and Evileye would take that information, and he was pleasantly surprised to find them both nonplussed by the information.

"Can I have a moment with you alone Ulthis?" Lakyus asked.

The Black Justice priest looked at her with a dubious expression, but then nodded reluctantly. "Please wait for me here Cercei, I will answer your question when I return." The woman nodded and remained where she knelt.

They walked quietly for a time until they reached the Black Justice temple, and he politely opened the door for her. Lakyus walked in, took a few steps forward, and then turned and met his eyes. "Please, for this, can you drop your illusion." She said.

He looked wary, but dispelled it, revealing the blood red eyes and sharp fangs of a vampire, and it was as he did so that to his surprise, Lakyus knelt in front of him, though she did not break her blue eyes locked gaze on his red ones as she did so. "I owe you a deep apology, truly I do. What I said and how I treated you was wrong, I know that now." She opened her arms out in front of her, "All I can offer as excuse is my ignorance, my fear, and the habit of long years that I never knew was a bad one." She said. "May I please ask that you grant me your forgiveness?" She said formally.

This threw him for a loop, and Ulthis said, "I don't really blame you, its true most vampires do prey on humans, its not like you held your belief without any reason, its just you didn't know there was any other way for us to live. Go on, stand up, I won't hold a grudge against someone trying to protect my followers, lets put it behind us, and I hope after this is over, you'll join me for dinner at least once before you leave." He said, revealing his confidence that the city could win the battle.

"I'll take you up on that." Lakyus said, and held out a hand, which Ulthis took and shook firmly.

"Since we are alone, there is a question I would like to ask you." Ulthis said, and Lakyus inclined her head, indicating that he should continue.

"Cercei has converted to the religion of Black Justice, however she is asking as part of that, that we give her the means to avenge her husband. She is not well trained in combat, few noble ladies are, but she asks for items necessary to fight anyway, even if it just means dying." He said.

Lakyus's eyes went wide. "You're not serious."

"I am, that is what she said. However I consider that a waste, so I was going to offer to turn her, to make her a vampire, and take her and Evileye out tonight to raid the enemy lines." The wideness of Lakyus's eyes did not diminish when she heard that. She felt the old hate come up, the bigotry against his kind, and again she mentally spat on it and pushed it down into the pit of her stomach.

"So what do you want my advice on?" She asked him.

"Well you've already answered some of my concerns." He said, "I had feared you would try to put her and then I down when you learned of it, but I see that is not the case. The other matter was contingent on your answer to the previous concern, and that is whether or not you would support her appointment to rule the city, even knowing what she'd become, in the place of her husband. You are going to be the heroes of this city when this battle is over, an endorsement from you will eliminate virtually any opposition."

Lakyus took a moment and sat down as she imagined a Black Justice vampire noblewoman ruling a city. She touched her forehead to see if it was burning, as if she might be having a fever dream.

"Is that a no?" He asked of her silence, his voice full of disappointment.

"No, its...its not." Lakyus said, "I'm just having to deal with a great deal as my world turns upside down and you've thrown me for another loop. I guess my first question is...what happens when she's turned?" Lakyus asked.

"She will have a blood frenzy and need to feed for the first time. She will be an especially formidable combatant during that time, at least for a short while. I want to turn her while she's near enemy lines in the darkness, and between she, Evileye, and myself, we can do substantial harm to enemy numbers and their night's rest." He said.

"Will she return to herself after the frenzy passes?" Lakyus asked.

"It doesn't take that long, once the first is done, it will start to fade, being completely gone within a few hours." Ulthis explained.

"And how will she hide this part of herself afterwards, you have your illusions, Evileye has her mask, how will she be protected afterwards?" Lakyus asked with concern.

"I will give her an item, a ring, as long as she wears it, her face will be illusory, showing her normal eyes and a smile without any fangs." Ulthis replied.

Lakyus rubbed her temple like it hurt, "I shed blood with two vampires together against a group of humans dedicated to slaughter...at this point, how much more can the gods damn me if I allow one more to be added?" She replied. "Very well, I owe you some degree of trust at least, and I saw what kind of person she was, and the nature of her husband, if she's as upright as that, and vampires can have love and loyalty like humans, then I believe Blue Rose can justly back her, assuming she survies the battle...and so do we." Lakyus replied, hardly believing her own words.

"Good." Ulthis said, "Then lets get back, I need the casualty reports and to propose this raid to Evileye." He opened the door, and they walked back out of the temple. When they returned to where Evileye and Cercei waited, Ulthis walked in front of the kneeling widow and took her hand, "I will give you what you ask," he said as he looked into her eyes, "but it is not the way you ask it, I can only offer this chance to you. If you refuse it, I will not hold it against you." Ulthis said comfortingly.

"Anything. Anything to avenge my husband." Cercei said. "He was all I had left, and they took him from me." Her voice was filled with fire, and Ulthis leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "I can turn you into a creature of the night, a vampire, and with the strength of a vampire, you will end many lives among the ones who took Yamoc from you."

Her eyes widened in shock as she leaned back to catch his eyes, as if searching them to see if he was serious, when he looked straight back at her, she understood that this was no cruel joke, he was serious. She nodded vigorously. "Do it." She said.

"Not here, we will get out of the city first, your first moment of turning will be a frenzy, I want you ready to fight the right people." He said.

"As you wish." She replied.

Evileye looked at them, and at Lakyus, with shocked eyes.

"Evileye, would you care to accompany us on this raid, three will kill more than two." He said.

Evileye looked over to Lakyus, and with a predatory smile, Lakyus nodded to her, prompting Evileye to turn her gaze back to Ulthis.

"Lets do it." She said.

Getting out of the city unnoticed was easy, everybody was always looking for those trying to break in, so nobody ever thought about a person trying to get out, so it was easy for them to find a guard with his back turned at a tower, and carry Cercei over and leap down from the crenelations and into an isolated shadow. It was when they were hidden beyond the camp and well outside the city, that Ulthis looked over to the human woman and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes." She said firmly, and inclined her head towards her shoulder, baring more of her neck to the vampire priest, he held her firmly, holding close to the base of her skull, his other arm wrapped around her, his mouth opened wide, and his fangs pierced her flesh. He drank deeply of her blood, until at last she fell hard on the ground when he released his hold on her body.

The turning began with a shriek as vampirism took hold in her body, two of her teeth reshaped into fangs, and her fingernails hardened and extended like claws, she felt her body grow tighter, lighter, and stronger, and her eyes began to turn color until her natural shade had gone away and only blood red remained. She looked around with a vampire's eyes and said, "So...this is what it looks like for you...us. I'm...so hungry." She licked her lips, and her vision and her scent told her there was prey nearby. She began to run, not as a person, but more as a beast, charging full tilt as fast as a dog on all fours, and far more fierce. The more stable and experienced vampire priest and Evileye quickly caught up, just as she leapt on a man and tore his throat out with a bite. Evileye began to use spells left and right, striking guards dead with crystal buckshot while Ulthis focused on his claws and teeth, and he used them very, very effectively.

A man charged at him as the alarm went up, and Ulthis used the combination of his combat training and vampire reaction speed and strength to grab his sword arm at the wrist and literally twist it off his body, sending the man screaming and writhing on his back, clutching at wrist that had been freed of its hand as blood gushed out of him.

He whirled on another man, and slashed upwards with his claws, tearing chunks out of his jugular before he could even raise his blade. He grabbed another man and flung him at the ground where a trap lay, breaking the trap cover the army had put over it, and leaving him screaming and impaled on several stakes. They were twenty kills in before the entire camp had been roused to understand that they were under attack and where, and the priest took advantage of their slow realization to take up a stray torch and throw it against barrels containing supplies, he created chaos and confusion as he went, using his charmed eyes to get guards to wander off into the woods, instructing them to never stop walking, taking them out of the battle as surely as if he'd killed them. The fighting was intense, but it was turning into a disadvantage as more of the enemy came baring down on the trio. Cercei wailed like a banshee, dragging men by their hair and flinging them into entire groups, tearing out chunks of flesh, even pulling off one man's arm simply to beat him with it, before she held the arm over her head and opened her mouth, allowing the blood inside of it to fall into her waiting mouth. She licked her lips clean, and threw the arm away when there was nothing of it left to drink, and she might have killed many more, but with the numbers bearing down on them, there was no time to linger.

"GO! GO!" Ulthis snapped to the two women, we've lost the advantage!" he shouted, and as he ran, he grabbed each of their wrists and pulled them as he fled, getting them to move with him, he quickly let go and they darted to a distant side gate, their vampire speed far outpacing the pursuers, the enemy camp was in an uproar, and when Ulthis, Evileye, and Cercei reached the gate, Ulthis tossed Cercei up to the top of the wall, and before he could offer to do the same for Evileye, she had grabbed him by the belt of his pants and tossed him up as well. She then cast 'fly' and drew herself up to the top of the wall before cancelling the spell. The three of them left the area immediately, satisfied that they had sewn considerable chaos among the ranks of their enemies.

"Here." Ulthis said, and pressed a ring into Cercei's hand. "Wear this, your vampiric features will be hidden." She looked surprised, but then with a mumbled thank you, put it on, and the vampire widow had returned to simply being a widow. Her eyes and teeth reverted to their normal state, and Ulthis restored his illusion, and Evileye turned her masked face to the approaching Lakyus, Gagaran, and twins.

"That was..." Tia began

"Productive." Tina finished.

"I like to think so." Evileye said.

"They'll be very tired tomorrow." Gagaran said with a grin.

"They will be, but we have another problem to deal with before we can get any rest." Lakyus said. "We have to find the insider or insiders who are tipping off the armies outside about our movements inside. Every single time we redirected our forces to try to make it seem stronger, before they'd even arrived, soldiers outside were moving to somewhere weaker. They ran us ragged out there today and I can't even begin to guess how many lives that cost us. If they keep doing that, we're in trouble." She replied.

It was then that she heard an unfamiliar voice, "I have an idea about how you might determine that." A well built man in paladin armor was approaching.

Lakyus saw him as soon as he spoke, and she took an educated guess as to whom he might be. "You must be Gustav Montagne." She said and approached with a hand outstretched, which he happily shook. "A pleasure to meet you, even if the circumstances are not." She said.

"The same." You must be Lakyus, and I'd wager your companions are Blue Rose, if I'm to judge by what the stories say about your appearances. And the rest of you would be...?" Gustav asked.

"I am Ulthis Ndarion, priest of Black Justice for the city of Kedyn." He said and offered out his hand, which Gustav took, though not without any discomfort.

"I am Cercei, Viscountess of this city." She said, extending her hand, which he took rather warmly.

"A pleasure to meet you all, I suppose I should say I'm sorry it took so long, but we ran into trouble. Someone knew we were coming, they sent hundreds of men to try to stop us, we suffered raids and various attacks every step of the way, and I lost almost half my men. Those red armored fellows you saw, those are Red Paladins who chose to support us, Black Justice members, they've developed some unusual martial arts, which was good for us, because otherwise we might not have made it at all."

They shared a common look at one another. "To know you were coming required inside knowledge between the council chamber, the capitol, and you." Lakyus said.

"And whoever knew it, knew what we had, and tried to block our entry into the city, they'd have succeeded too, if it weren't for that sudden darkness that forced them to withdraw for want of the cover of angels and the fear of injuring or killing their own." Gustav added.

"We need to find them." Tia said.

"Fast." Tina finished.

"You said you had an idea Gustav?" Lakyus asked.

"I do." He replied.

"Please, tell us." Ulthis said.

"Whoever was telling the enemy about our movements also knew about what took place in the meeting where you discussed me, so we're looking for someone who..." He held out his hand, fingers extended, and then drew them closed to a fist as he ticked off the characteristics, "Hates Black Justice, is siding with Remedios Custodio, has first hand access to the meetings that take place in the private councils here, is going to be positioned high enough and far enough back to observe our movements, and have the ability to silently signal our movements from their position, probably through flags, lights, or some other simple object. Does anyone fit that description?" He asked.

"The priests of the old gods do." Ulthis said, "Their high priests are not native to this area."

Lakyus's mouth fell open. "The six...!" She exclaimed, prompting a their heads to turn towards her questioningly. "When I first arrived here, I sought the council of a priest here, he made reference to 'the six gods' the Slane Theocracy worships the six gods...priests in this country worship only the four, he's a member of the Slane Theocracy, probably one of their agents embeded here." Lakyus said.

Cercei stroked her chin, "The priests have been highly antagonistic to Black Justice, even for zealots, I attributed it to them being from the South, where the Sorcerer King is little known and less revered, but it makes more sense if they're Slane Theocracy, they wouldn't hesitate to goad violence, and they tried to start a riot when my child was killed, they blamed the Black Justice temple, and that could have torn the city apart."

"If he's embedded..." Tia began

"The rest probably are too." Tina finished.

"So, to know where they are, we're going to have to lay a trap." Gustav said, "They're definitely watching, which means they have to be up high and well back, there are only..." He paused and counted the tall buildings in the city, "five areas that give a good vantage point. We need to observe each position and watch to see what changes when we maneuver our soldiers."

"On it." Ulthis said, "I'll march a unit out of the city through the western gate, they won't be able to miss that, and they'll have to respond by shifting the position of their own soldiers. When you find the spot they're signalling from, hit them hard and take them dead or alive."

Carrying out that plan did not take long, Ulthis roused four hundred men, and marched them in full gear out the western gate just as promised, while Blue Rose, Gustav, and Cercei watched each of the buildings upper floors and rooftops for any hint of a change. It wasn't long in coming. A set of shutters opened, and a lamp was lit, it blinked out, then blinked again, then blinked out, then blinked on again as if it had been covered and exposed repeatedly. "There!" Cercei said as soon as she saw it.

"Gagaran, Tia, Tina, Evileye, find them and capture them. Then bring them to the Great Hall's dungeon." Lakyus said. "I'll meet you there, don't regret having to put them down if you have to, but seize them. While we're gone, Gustav, please take command of the wall, just in case."

The four adamantite ranked adventurers were second to none in Re-Estize, and they were not lessened in their status by coming to the Roble Holy Kingdom. They moved through the moonlit night with the smooth easiness of the moonlight over water, and they quickly dashed into several buildings and caught their charges by surprise, each of the four priests were snatched with ease, barely getting time to protest for half a word before they were hit and knocked unconscious.

Less than an hour later they were bound in a dungeon, each one's wrists bound behind them to a chair, and then in turn each one bound to the other, sitting in a square formation with each man to the back of another.

They didn't move for awhile, they lay there with their heads slumped. "Wake them." Cercei said.

Gagaran took up a bucket of water, and heaved the water out over them one after another, snapping them suddenly awake and shaking the water off in confusion. They sat stunned and confused, before the brief memory of their capture returned.

"I will make this plain." Cercei said. "You are all guilty of treason, and you are all going to die for it."

The four began to sputter denials before she spat out, "Do not even try it! We caught your signal, you all knew about Gustav's coming, you all have a stake in one third of this city being exterminated, and our enemy out there knew they'd been exposed far sooner than they should have. You got a lot of people killed, and you're going to die for it, I only woke you so that you'd know it was coming, and to give you the courtesy of last words. So, do you have any?" Cercei asked in a voice so ice cold that the winter snows seemed a warm summer day.

One of the priests caught Lakyus's eyes, "You! You're a priestess of the god of water, you should be helping us! You should not be protecting these people...these monsters in the disguise of humans, they're an abomination unto the gods, as a priestess, you must know this! Help us save the people from this menace!" He shouted.

Lakyus looked at him with a burning hatred, as if she were looking at the way she was so recently, and she spoke slowly, her voice dripping with venomous hatred, "I WAS a priestess of water. The gods wanted me to hate what I loved, destroy what I held dear, betray who trusted me most...given a choice between the gods and my sister, I choose her."

He began to scream at her. "Apostate! Blasphemer! Betrayer! You are not the heroes of humanity, you are unholy, you are abominations, abominations, unholy abominations!" He frothed at the mouth like a mad dog as he screamed, and Lakyus answered, "I would rather be an Unholy Rose, and whole, with all my beloved petals, than the withered one I'd be without my them." Lakyus said with iron conviction as she gestured to the other members of Blue Rose.

Cercei stepped over and swiped her fingers across his throat, cutting off his tirade. She stepped to the next one.

"You, any last words?" She asked.

"Evil abominations! The gods will not see this unanswered! You're unholy! Servants of the undead, betrayers of the faith!"

Cercei cut his words off just as quickly, with a slash to the throat with her vampire claws.

"And you? Last words?" She asked again.

"Into the hands of my gods, I commend my spirit, and you, Unholy Roses, I go to condemn you before the gods, and will wait with them to see you cast down into the torment you deserve." He said calmly, and lifted his chin defiantly, baring his throat.

"At least you're more brave than mad, but you're still a traitor." She said, and slashed his throat.

The last man was shaking with rage. "Roses wilt, whether they are blue, red, or blasphemous and unholy things before the gods, your petals will fall, and you will mourn one another in futility as the gods take you to your punishment, as they take me to my reward." He said, and tried to spit at Cercei, who avoided the last insult with childish ease, and tore his throat out with the rest of them.

Lakyus stood there trembling, the only sound was the dripping of blood from the corpses to the floor. "I never thought I'd see a day where I'd watch priests be executed, where I'd be an apostate, a blasphemer..." She said softly. "But...if you're an unholy rose, I'd sooner be one too, than anything else." Lakyus said as she looked over at Evileye, who grabbed her Lakyus's hand impulsively. Gagaran, Tia, and Tina echoed the sentiment, "Better unholy petals together, than a whole blue flower apart." Gagaran said insightfully.

Cercei looked at them oddly, "Well that's all done then. Never imagined I'd be doing that one day." She said, "I'll have to quietly dispose of them, put some story out about them being killed during the fighting. Its a better ending story than they deserve, but now what?" She asked.

"Now?" Lakyus asked. "Now we have Gustav take control of the signal station and we have him start feeding bad intel back to them tomorrow when the fighting begins, this should start to give us something of an edge, and it should be enough for us to finally end all this."

There were very angry, savage smiles on the faces of the women present...an unholy rose, was about to be in full bloom.

**AN: So I hope you liked this one, I rather did, it took a bit longer to write than usual, this one took me two hours...though partially because of a power outage, so I'm using my mobile connection while writing in the dark. Ah well, minor annoyance and I'll just have to wait for power to come back on. In the meantime, while I'm doing that, I trust you'll leave reviews to feed me, lest I starve for want of them. :) Kudos as always to anyone who recognized certain nifty little historical and literary references in this chapter, but whether you saw them or not, doesn't matter, what matters is that you enjoyed it. Tomorrow will be the FINAL chapter of this story (except for a brief epilogue to come out the same day), and then another Memory and a Message chapter retrospective, also probably same day, then the day after that...though depending on how tomorrow goes...maybe same day, I'll resume 'God Rising'. **

**Oh, unrelated note, at the end of this story I'll leave a list of books I've written, in answer to those asking about them. :) **

**Till then, have an Ainztastic day. ;) **


	16. The Blooming of the Unholy Rose

Gustav as it turned out, had no intention of waiting until dawn to start sending bad information out, he started using them that night, sending out information that Kedyn's army was concentrating itself on the East gate and had pulled back into the western one. He sent signals that the city was short of water and thirsty, as well as that it was short of food and hungry. When Ulthis drew his unit back in to the city, he sent them immediately to rest, the people worked in shifts, with untrained peasants on the walls whose only job was to observe the enemy while the soldiers slept, in this the city had the advantage, their soldiers had only to fight, while they had thousands of citizens who could tend every task from boiling water to preparing food, neither of which was actually short. Soldiers slept on the walls or on the ground up against them, there wasn't a single warrior who was not coated with blood and sweat and wishing for a hot bath.

This was the scene that Cercei saw as she moved through the city, far from being disturbed by her blood soaked appearance as she moved from soldier to soldier, offering words of encouragement, or visiting the wounded, her bloody frame was an inspiring sight. The death of Rava who was so young, had been used to hurt the city's unity, it had made the noble couple into a household name almost immediately, the large reward Yamoc had offered had done nothing to still the talk, and Yamoc's speech along the wall, his sudden death, and his final words, carried from man to man in hushed whispers of awe at his courage in the face of death, had given him immortal fame among the defenders. Cercei's time visiting the soldiers who had been wounded, without distinguishing between Black Justice and follower of the old religion, had seen her popularity skyrocket over the course of the evening as one man spoke to another, and he spoke to two more, so the positive sentiment was carried, and her reputation for fortitude and stoicism despite having lost her entire family in such a short span of time, made her an inspiring figure.

Blue Rose at last had the breathing room to eat and to sleep, and they did both eagerly, little time was reserved for conversation as they laid themselves down into their respective bedrolls after a meal of fairly decent stew and fresh made bread.

Ulthis approached Gustav from the signal position when most of the city was asleep. "What happens tomorrow?" He asked.

"Tomorrow we finish this. We now control the flow of information, they're basically under my command now, and I will be a poor general to them." Gustav laughed at the humor, and then continued, "I will get them to concentrate their arrow fire on one part of the wall, and I will report mass casualties. I will have them send their angels 'pursuing' people who have 'fled' the wall, who are not there at all and deprive them of their angel cover, and I will see them climb the wall where it is weakest, and when in fact that is where we are strongest. Yesterday we danced to their tune and survived by luck. Today we win." He said firmly.

"Have you seen the casualty reports?" Ulthis asked.

Gustav gave a nod, "We suffered about twenty percent casualties yesterday, we ran out of healing potions, and I'm guessing every priest capable of healing ran out of mana."

"That is about the size of it." Ulthis said, "I healed as many as I could, but it will take time before I can do so again. In the meantime I used what knowledge I acquired in my training as a priest to help treat the wounded so they could recover naturally...but that won't do any good if we're overthrown tomorrow...so I have to ask, what do you think they suffered?" He asked.

"Hard to say." Gustav said and stroked his chin in thought. "We've got hundreds of their dead inside the walls, and more are outside, at a guess between the raids, the traps I heard about, and so on, they've lost somewhere between one and two thousand lives."

"So we could still lose here." Ulthis said grimly.

"Maybe." Gustav said, "But our odds are very good, and remember, we do not have to win, we just have to not lose."

"What?" Ulthis asked in confusion.

"Victory for us doesn't mean we crush them, it just means we survive and they fail to take the city, if we inflict enough casualties, they will be forced to retreat because the city can no longer be taken. Since they think we're now short of food and water, they may try to delay the fight tomorrow, to make us anxious with thirst. I want that delay, fighting in short bursts along the wall works for us, not for them, they need to go deep into the woods to forage for supplies, I intend to turn the tables on them and make that a dangerous exercise. It will be late in the day by the time they realize they're going to be short of food and water as well, and then they'll have to take this city in one shot or retreat immediately."

"You're...good at this." Ulthis said, impressed.

"I am commander of the paladin order, I should be good at this." Gustav replied sardonically.

When morning came, the army beyond the walls was a tired one, the raid had forced them to keep many of their men awake to keep watch for further action, but contrary to the expectations of those on the wall, the enemy did not attack when the sun broke the horizon. Instead, they simply formed up and waited. As they stood arrayed against it, Gustav went out into the city and called for volunteers, he was quickly swarmed by people eager to do what they could to keep the enemy from their homes.

"I need for you to create something for me, and I need it quickly." As he relayed his instructions, they began to understand, and an impromptu assembly line formed of people carrying straw and wood, people binding materials, people painting flesh colors on the visible areas, and people dressing the false figures in the armor of the dead. Within two hours, there were hundreds of them. Gustav then ordered them taken and 'walked' on to the wall, while the real people acted as if they were being relieved. From the enemy force's distance, all it seemed to them to be was a shift change, with a much more substantial daytime force than a night time one.

As that happened, Gustav returned to the signal tower, and indicated that arrow fire should be concentrated on one segment of the wall, where most of these dummy soldiers were concentrated. "Its payback time you sons of bitches." He said softly to himself.

When Blue Rose got up, they were feeling shockingly positive, given their circumstances. "What's the plan for the day boss?" Gagaran asked Lakyus with her oafish happy grin.

"I want you where you were, but Tia and Tina I want you to do something different. I want you hunting in those woods, pick off stragglers, pick off foragers, take out anything that walks on two legs, because if it is not in here, it is not on our side. Evileye you're with me again."

"Right!" the universal answer came out, then Gagaran and the twins took off to their respective tasks.

Hours came and went, and in late afternoon, with only a few hours of daylight remaining, the raiders Gustav had dispatched and the work of Tia and Tina had become noticed. For that mission Gustav had chosen the formerly imprisoned hunters and trappers, the prey had become predators, and those woods were their homes. The force beyond the wall made ready to move, and Gustav himself returned to the signal tower, he watched as hundreds of arrows fell on the dummy soldiers, and they began to fall over from the force of the impact, it appeared to be a devastating blow, and the enemy cheered and began to march. Gustav 'reported' mass casualties in that area, and then reported soldiers moving to the Eastern gate, forcing the foe to deploy soldiers to prevent their forces from being flanked. That single false signal had effectively removed five hundred men from the fight. He then sent a signal reporting that numbers of soldiers had fled the base of the wall with their spirits broken, and they were fleeing towards the center of the city. A number of summoned angels were dispatched to deal with them, but there were fewer angels today than the previous day, the high mana expenditure had taken its toll, and they were weakened. By contrast...

Gustav let out a vicious smile, his own forces had expended most of their mana days ago defending against the interference on their march to Kedyn, so now, today, most of their mana had been restored, the imbalance in angels had swung the other way. When almost a third of those angels that the foe had summoned darted over the walls and in to the interior, the imbalance was worse. He sent a signal indicating that the center was weakly manned. He looked down at Gagaran's bulky frame from where he stood, funneling a few men at a time directly into the path of an adamantite ranked adventurer was almost to cruel...almost.

The arrows continued to rain down until very few of the dummies remained, and in standard paladin siege tactics, they rushed with ladders to mount in both places. However not only did the angels give scant cover now with their reduced numbers, but the city defenders summoned angels of their own and rendered them impotent, while also using their superior numbers to harass the men trying to mount the wall, and forcing the advancing force to expend arrows and magic and even lives to fend them off.

Lakyus waited beside Evileye until the arrow storm had passed, and she said to the common soldiers, Black Justice members, paladins, and red paladins that were near to them, "They're coming now, those renegades, coming to kill you, take your homes, and do gods alone know what to your wives and children, your elderly and your sick, your neighbors, your friends, your businesses, and they are not too week to do it. But You have something they don't have! You have something to fight for, and that makes you more powerful than they could ever be! Now follow me and finish this!" She held up the demon sword, and turned to the steps that would carry them up the wall where dummy soldiers 'died'.

Evileye and Lakyus lead the rapid ascent and waited at the top, the arrow storm had stopped, but their own was just beginning, the now refreshed soldiers of Kedyn loosed arrows at the defending ranks, dropping men here and there, and another went to fill the ranks. In some small way, both Evileye and Lakyus pitied them, they were trying to raise ladders in a position defended by two adamantite ranked adventurers, it wasn't a situation she would have wanted if their places were switched. And when the ladders hit the wall and the soldiers started to climb, it yielded about the results you would expect.

The demon sword cut through armor like scissors through paper, and Evileye seemed to be toying with lives like a cat with a wounded mouse. She used reverse gravity on a group carrying a ladder, raising them several times higher than the wall, then cancelled the spell and letting them drop onto their comrades, killing the ones who fell and injuring the ones who 'caught' them. Her shard buck shot cut through limbs and her crystal dagger killed twenty men by severing their heads before the energy in it was expended. Her acid splash hit a ladder and its carriers sending men screaming to their knees clutching limbs that melted before their eyes, and incidentally ruined the ladders, keeping the uninjured down on the ground below and reducing the pressure on the wall's defenders.

Gagaran's fel iron was rising and falling like a miner's pick ax, only if she were mining for anything, it seemed to be for brains. Nor did the defenders spirits break or even wane, red paladins and white alike on the same side covered flanks and exacted a heavy toll for every inch of ground. Whatever had been said to the ranks of their enemies had clearly been inspiring, because the soldiers who made it to the top fought with desperate courage. Ulthis and Cercei had apparently considered this an opportunity, as near as Gustav could tell, because they gathered several hundred people held in reserve, and massed them near the western gate, Gustav decided to give them a hand and signalled to the enemy ranks that another thousand were preparing to march out the east gate, forcing the enemy to pull hundreds more to prevent a charge that would never come. The gate opened in the west, and out went Ulthis and Cercei. Gustav idly pictured whoever the commander over there was, wondering why no one had signaled the departure of another column, and concluding all to late that his system had been compromised.

The charge was swift and brutal, as men on foot and on horses smashed into the long lines of people waiting to ascend the ladders, the fierce strength of vampires making the moment of penetration much, much easier, the disciplined ranks became chaotic, and the chaotic ranks became panicked.

When Tia and Tina had begun the harrowing of the wood, they'd had great success, the trappers and hunters were confident in their home ground and eager for revenge against their captors, and through most of the morning they managed their work without incident, as the hours passed though, whoever their enemy was, he or she had clearly realized that their foraging parties were not coming back, thus putting urgency on the conflict's quick resolution. When they hadn't spotted another foraging party for awhile, Tia looked to Tina and said, "They know there's a problem."

"Agreed." Tina replied. "Gather the others?"

Tia nodded somberly, "Easier to hunt them when they're nice and lined up and having their backs to us."

Gathering up the two hundred hunters and trappers proved easy, through the use of bird calls, the message was relayed throughout the relatively small area of the forest in a short span of time. Of course gathering them together took longer than letting them know it needed to be done, and by then the battle was in full swing. Tia and Tina were assassins, not used to commanding groups of people, go in, kill, get out, that was the meat in their stew of talent. However it did not take a great general to know that archers needed to be lined up, or to be made ready to shoot, and they did that well enough.

"We wait for now." Tia said to the gathered men.

"Till the best chance." Tina finished. The eerie connectedness of their thoughts and their general lack of emotion sent shivers down the backs of the peasants, but they listened to the two dangerous women, and that was all the twins needed for now.

They held back, in bowshot from concealment, behind the lines of the advancing force. They simply waited for hours, and watched as the attack commenced. Even to the calm and collected twins, it felt strange to see the battle from the other side, the large men and women so close, turning to dots and shrinking as they went farther away, climbing a ladder only to fall to their death, the people scurrying among the enemy lines conveying information, ammunition, or moving up to replace the fallen. Today had not gone as well for them as the previous day, that much was clear.

Then Tia and Tina saw the surprise attack, Ulthis and Cercei moving full tilt into the thin lines that were unprepared to receive a charge. Organization fell apart, and the twins shared a look and a nod and not a word between one another.

"Draw." Tia said.

"And loose." Tina finished.

The hunters and trappers pulled taut their bows, bows meant to give an arrow enough force to bring down bears, arrows meant to pierce thick leather hides and deep fur, were loosed at the mostly lightly protected backs of their former captors, and two hundred arrows fell like a steel rain on ranks already driven to chaos by seeing the sudden attack. Arrows were launched in earnest as the vengeful band chose to expend their quivers in full, and Tia and Tina chose that moment to run to different parts of the line and scream out in panic...

"Oh no! Its an ambush, we're doomed! Retreat! Retreat! They're beside us, they're behind us, escape!" And the panic they created, spread throughout the masses, when the hundreds and hundreds of men stationed to prevent an exit from the East gate, saw that not only had they been outflanked, but that their army had begun to panic, their commander, whoever it was, began to order a withdrawal. Men on wall without reinforcement were quickly dispatched, while those on the ladders who had tried to replace them, could only descend one at a time, and had to contend with rocks, swords, arrows, and angels harassing them, few would successfully flee down the ladder, even fewer would get away at all. The ordered soldiers guarding the East Gate had kept their wits about them, and began to move towards the wood line.

The attacking force melted like butter in a frying pan over fire, with men trampling over each other in their panic to escape, charging blindly into the woods in the hopes that the cover of the trees would save them, a few steady heads tried to retain order, but as the East gate force withdrew, the gate opened and soldiers from the walls began to descend and exit out the gate, putting more on ground as the attacking contingent under Ulthis and Cercei tore in from the west, left little hope of restoring order.

In the end, even the steady heads were either separated from their bodies by angels, swords, or worse...or they fled afoot or on horseback, with the pursuing army disinclined to prisoners, it was no longer a battle, it was butchery the angry citizens unleashed their wrath and slaughtered anyone they could get hold of, yanking back helmet to bare a throat and cut it as cleanly as they would slaughter a lamb, the oppressors had become the oppressed, the predator had become prey, and many of the living became the dead.

The cheers of the wall and within the city as word spread, seemed to add fuel to the pursuers fire hours were spent hunting men in the forest, before at last people began to lose their bloodlust and energy and stagger back to the city, it was hours more before they had all returned, in the meantime, Blue Rose went about the battlefield with a handful of volunteers to search for survivors.

Broken banners, broken spears, broken bones and broken bodies lay scattered about, most would never rise again, but every now and then they found someone groaning and desperate to move away from further danger. Lakyus was not a woman known for her bloodlust, and she instructed her roses to take prisoners where they could and to treat the injured they were able to treat.

She had no sooner finished doing just that to one unfortunate who had two broken legs, a missing nose, and several missing teeth, which he appeared to have swallowed, and as someone was carrying the man away under Lakyus's orders she stood up and looked around the field, not bothering to shake the blood off her hands. As she looked around she noticed that those in the black armor of Black Justice were taking prisoners, while many others, when finding the wounded, would simply run them through with whatever weapon they had, and turn the wounded into the dead. Curious about this divergent practice, and not seeing any other wounded near in need of care, she looked around until she found Ulthis, who was himself tending a wounded man among his own ranks, he had no sooner finished with that one and dispatched the rest back to the city, than he saw the leader of Blue Rose approach him, and he waved politely.

Lakyus approached Ulthis with a wave in return, and when she came near, she held out her bloody hand to him with genuine sincerity and honest warmth in her smile, he blinked for a moment, still unused to this, but took it gladly, each equally undisturbed by the blood mixing between their palms. "You did very well out there today." Lakyus said.

"Thank you, same to you and all your roses." Ulthis said, "As expected of an adamantite adventurer team. Your reputations are well earned." He added.

"I can't help but notice that your followers treat the wounded and take prisoners." She said.

"Yes, don't you?" He asked curiously, an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"We do actually." Lakyus replied, "I'm just...surprised to see that...you...do...too." Her voice slowed down and took on a somewhat embarrassed note as she realized the implication of what she was saying.

He gave her a sardonic, crooked little smile at what she said, and her own emotional reaction to it as she realized what she was saying. He graced her embarrassment with a laugh, "Its alright. You're still getting used to this," He dropped his illusion for her, revealing his blood red eyes again, before restoring the disguise, "being anything but a mindless evil predator. Evileye had a talk with me, she explained things, a lot of things, and for what its worth, she's proud of you. Change isn't easy, not even for those...like us. Long held thoughts are not easily dispelled and can come out in unexpected ways at unexpected times. I see why you might expect us to do...well...that." He said and pointed to a peasant putting a sword through a paladin's throat, ensuring the man who looked dead, was dead. "Black Justice however, is required to accept surrender and to take prisoners."

Lakyus blinked. She didn't know of any nation that was 'required' to take prisoners.

"Why?" She asked witha voice full of surprise.

"When I was training to be a priest, the Sorcerer King told us that the ultimate victory is not winning a battle or even a war, but in winning without fighting, to make people glad you are who you are, and you are where you are, to make even your enemies regret that they opposed you, and come in turn to support you, turning obstacles into assets. He said that you destroy your enemies, when you make them your friends."

Lakyus could only blink and keep listening as he drifted off into memory.

"He said that when we did have to fight, if we treat the wounded of our enemies as we would our brothers and sisters, we win moral victories that erase enmity, which is the final goal of war, the achievement of peace by ending enmity. Traditional war says to do so just by killing our enemies, but he says to win enemies to friendship. When a man has lost the fight, what more is gained than another corpse by killing, there are plenty of corpses already without deliberately making more. He says that is the path of kingship, that is what it means to stand above others. And so we accept surrenders, we treat the wounded, and we prohibit abuses to the defeated such as slavery and rape, which are crimes he does not forgive. Plus...he also mentioned practically that people who know they'll be left alive and unharmed if they surrender, are not inclined to fight to the death." Ulthis said softly, as if he was preaching before his followers, finishing his last statement with a wry grin.

Lakyus was left dumbstruck. She knew the traditions of war were to take prisoners, accept surrenders, treat the wounded. But she had never heard of any nation 'mandating it by law' and here it was part of the religion, which she assumed meant it was also his national policy and his laws. It was equal parts inhumanely humane and...very practical. A discomforting feeling of respect began to grow in her gut for the undead king. She thanked Ulthis for his answers, and walked almost trance-like, off to tend to another task.

That afternoon the victorious leadership met in the Great Hall. Cercei sat at the head of the table, while Gustav, Ulthis, and the members of Blue Rose took up the remaining positions.

"Gustav," Cercei said, "We don't you begin?"

"Yes m'lady, our total casualties for fighting forces by the end of the battle were two thousand seven hundred and fifty eight dead, another three hundred wounded, half of those critically. We're still counting the dead of the enemy, but they are estimated right now to have suffered roughly three thousand five hundred dead or captured, or about seventy percent of their total forces. The captured total fewer than three hundred, all from the second day of fighting. Out of civilian casualties we suffered roughly one thousand five hundred dead, no captured, and around two hundred and fifty five wounded."

Cercei's eyes went up, "So many?"

"Yes ma'am, civilians had to perform many tasks that took them close to the fighting, from preparing boiling water to bringing food or replacement arrows, some were caught on the walls or suffered deaths by arrows or angels who did not discriminate between combatants and noncombatants."

"We are also still missing another two hundred of those who pursued the enemy soldiers who routed into the forest, if they're not back by now, they are also presumed dead. We've sent out recovery teams, but so far only bodies of both friend and foe have been found." He finished reading, and set down his document.

"So what you're telling me is, almost fifteen percent of my city has been killed." Cercei said grimly.

"I don't know how many people lived here before now, but if..." he ran the numbers in his head, "if your city's population was somewhere around thirty thousand, then yes, around fifteen percent is dead or missing and presumed dead, not counting my own forces that I brought with me. Out of my one thousand, five hundred died just trying to get here, and we were augmented by volunteers among Red Paladins, of the seven hundred or so I brought to the city, I lost three hundred and fifty, bringing our final tally...barring any deaths among the wounded, to four thousand eight hundred and eight." Gustav said grimly, "In my case, I no longer have an effective fighting force, and I will have to return to the capitol to rearm and replace my losses."

It was grim news that sank in among those present. It made the victory more something to mourn than to celebrate. A lot of eyes looked down at the table, the funerals would last for weeks.

"Any word on any further pursuit?" Cercei asked Ulthis, I know you took a force scouting out there." Breaking the silence.

"None. We know they've fled South, that seems to be where they've come from, we found the remnants of their camp and there was a long trail leading beyond it, they'd been gathering there for quite some time. If it helps, we've taken the provisions they've left behind, between the metal, materials and food stuffs and other goods they weren't able to get to thanks to the very effective work of Tia, Tina, and her team," he gave a polite and appreciative nod to the pair, who returned it in kind, "that will at least help feed the remaining population for awhile, and they also by the way, seem to have taken to hunting to sustain themselves, they had many furs as well, so I suggest a trading expedition to let the surrounding areas know that Kedyn is back in business again." Ulthis said, finishing his statement with great enthusiasm.

"Evileye, what have you gotten from the prisoners?" Cercei asked.

"They're definitely Remedios's people. From what we were able to gather, these were mostly volunteers from the South, they joined her out of a religious frenzy to crush the heresy of the North, it wasn't hard to get out of them, they practically spat that at me." Evileye said.

"Was Remedios there?" Gustav asked grimly.

"No. She'd dispatched someone else for this, and supposedly, this was only a small fragment of what she now has at her disposal."

Gustav slumped. "Its going to be a civil war...my country is fucked...just...fucked. We worked so hard...we worked together, we beat Jaldabaoth, fended off a demihuman invasion the likes of which we've never seen before...and now we're fucking ourselves over this...this is insanity!" He shouted and slammed his meaty fist on the table, causing the heavy thing to bounce and clatter under him.

Nobody was willing to criticize him over his reaction, and the tension hung for a minute before Cercei continued. "Lakyus, did you find anything in the priest's quarters or offices that could help us?"

"Yes. These priests were from the Slane Theocracy, they also knew about the army stationed there and had worked with them before and during the siege, that much we knew when we put them down, but what we didn't know was just how widespread this was. They've dispatched inquisitor priests throughout the South, but also parts of the North to keep tensions high and create 'recruits' for a holy war against Black Justice and the followers of the Sorcerer King."

The tension went back up and she paused before continuing and looking straight at Gustav, "So you were wrong, this isn't just a civil war, your country is the target of a full blown crusade, I suspect Neia Baraja has been encountering fragments of it, but if this continues your entire country is going to collapse into chaos within a year, if what I've been able to glean from these private documents is even remotely true."

"I can't believe I'm saying this...but we should let the Sorcerer King know." Gagaran said, "Its kind of part of our job description, we were hired to protect a part of the population, and the threat is a lot bigger than anyone realizes."

The twins nodded numbly in mute agreement.

"I'd like to read through those in detail." Cercei said, "Set them aside for me if you don't mind, and I'll read over them tonight."

"Of course m'lady." Lakyus said politely.

"Outside this room...how is the city feeling?" Cercei asked.

"Very good." Ulthis said, "Frankly we've never been this unified, the attack may have been brutal and costly, but with the old gods followers and Black Justice fighting side by side, there are warmer feelings there than previously held, and they're still working together. I should also add, that your ladyship presented an inspiring figure when visiting the wounded after your husband's death, and in your willingness to put yourself at risk fighting personally in front of your people, many have asked when you'll be confirmed as the new ruler of the city, though you haven't even been officially nominated yet, and that includes the members of both the faiths in the city.

Cercei nodded. "I think that finishes things off for now, I'm going to go out among the people for a time, I want to see how they're doing. While I'm out, please walk the city and simply take initiative to solve what you can, most especially the treating of the wounded and the cleanup. With so many dead, we'll be weeks if not months alone in sorting out inheritance issues, I don't even want to think about sitting in that chair yet." Cercei said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at the place occupied by the former Marquis.

_...In Nazarick..._

"What do you think Sebas?" Ainz asked his butler as he watched the meeting unfold.

Sebas leaned over to look and said, "I think she will make a very fine ruler my lord, not so well as yourself, but she will do well, and she will make a good servant to you."

"I agree, I was just thinking the same thing." Ainz said. "When things have settled down there, have a trade mission established, sponsor some merchants willing to operate out of that city, I think they've earned their prosperity, and the blessings of their lord." Ainz said thoughtfully.

"It will be done my lord." Sebas answered, "I will ensure the city is watched to see when it is ready for your grace to fall on them." He bowed as he spoke, and Ainz watched intently as Blue Rose took control of various cleanup efforts. "They are a very interesting lot." He said in a low voice, before he cut off the viewer and walked away from it.

**AN: Well the siege is finished, and this story arc is all but completed. All that remains is the epilogue and its over. I might at some point go back and tweak a few things, and I DID make at least one small mistake, a reviewer mentioned that Gustav had met the team before...and they were right, I'd forgotten that, so...I'll probably go back and just add a line where he remarks that they'd met before, just forgotten him because Remedios overshadowed him, yadda yadda, just a little tweak to fill a hole in my work that will nag at me if I leave it alone for long.**

**If you enjoyed this story, leave a review, because I shall starve without them. If you did not, then leave a review saying what could have been improved. I'm profoundly arrogant and proud, and I love every minute of it...but what I'm NOT, is thin skinned, or to stubborn to not fix my own mistakes (rare as they may be...see...there it is. ;) told yah) and not to proud to seek to improve things where they can be improved. So thanks again for reading, I hope it was worth your time, and if it wasn't, well...neener neener you already read it anyway. ;) **

**See you in the epilogue! **


	17. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

The next few days were good ones, a few of those believed to be dead in the woods during the pursuit, emerged to the tearful embraces of their loved ones, some had been wounded and survived, others had simply traveled much to deep and it took longer to get out than it otherwise would have. Lakyus kept her promise to the man in the river and had his remains recovered, and he was given a proper burial. The wounded were healed in order of priority, and though a few died anyway, most of them were back on their feet within a few days.

The cleanup of the city was a community effort, scrubbing the results of loosed bowels that had opened in terror or at the end of life, had been an especially foul smelling affair, but worse was the blood, which seemed to refuse to come off the stone, until Cercei ordered it to simply be left where it was, to dry and stain the stone as an eternal reminder, that when the time had come to fight or flee, in her lifetime, they chose to hold the wall. She gave a stirring speech atop the same stone where her husband had died, a place chosen for that express reason, where she praised the defenders of the city, called for unity in the face of common necessity, it was a message well received, and couldn't have been otherwise under the circumstances.

The dead were buried together, and with the only priest available being Ulthis, he found himself called to perform ceremonies for many other than his congregation, a service he provided at no charge, and took to with great passion as a final service to the dead. His wife, for a time, took over counseling duties for the grieving, and proved to be gifted at it because of her genuine warmth.

The deceased priests were not given a noble cover story after all, learning that they were not actually traitors...as you cannot betray what you were never loyal to in the first place...but rather that they were Slane Theocracy agents, sent shock waves through the city, and copies were made of all the relevant papers, and they were routed to every tavern and every crier and every public space and medium, and it the shock waves became outrage, and it became something of a humbling period for the followers of the four gods, to know that those they trusted for guidance had used them as a political tool, ready to throw them away to exterminate a group perceived to be a religious enemy. So Black Justice members ceased to be pariahs to the larger population, who began to listen to Ulthis and the others, and see them as neighbors should see one another, as neighbors. The division between families over whether to worship the four or the one or the one as a fifth, did not disappear, as it would have if it were a story read to children...but the framework of a bridge was formed that got people talking, and for many, that was plenty.

The temples were left empty of official priests, and such was the abiding shame that by the followers of the four gods that their temples had housed the people who worked for the overthrow of the city, that no requests were sent for replacements, instead, a few leaders sprang up from those congregations who began to speak their own minds, delivering sermons and guidance of their own making, independent of the priests of the traditional faith, but not wholly abandoning it either.

The letter arrived confirming Yamoc to the leadership of the city arrived a week later, while Cercei had been in de facto control over the administration of city affairs already, it was considered to have conveyed the position to her now that her husband had passed away before he could officially assume the position. Rava and Yamoc were buried side by side in the central square of the city on the same day that Viscountess Cercei became the official ruler of the city. It was not a day she reveled in, as it was for most others who achieved the pinnacle of rule within their realm. Even her citizens had the grace to temper their happiness at her ascendancy with sympathy for her loss.

So ascended or not, she mourned her daughter and her husband, and took comfort from Ulthis, who became an important advisor, one that had earned a measure of trust by those who had fought beside him, or seen him fight for them. Ulthis took to preaching openly in the square, speaking of the virtues of strength and the obligation to their city through their god, and he blended his message with one of tireless city pride in their shared defense of one another's homes, and this proved extremely motivating to those who followed him, and those who did not.

Cercei had her city's banner changed to show a representation of the city surrounded by a wall, with the motto "Holding the wall", and her personal crest was modified to include a wall splashed with blood in the same pattern that fell from her husband's wounds onto the stone, and her family motto would forever read, "Hold the wall, or die on it."

The city's banner became very popular among the populace, and those capable of sewing found the demand for ones that could be hung from doors and windows to be very popular, and within a few weeks, there was barely a house that was not proudly sporting the city symbol. It was even painted on Black Justice uniforms, which further enhanced their public image, and combat training was expanded to those outside the faith as a matter of city necessity, creating a common ground that brought both sides together, forming new friendships through shared experience.

When Alyra was taken away from Kedyn, the city where Rava had lived, she fell deeper and deeper into madness, and her time of being functionally sane continued to be more and more brief, until one day it never returned, she fell into peels of mad laughter and babbling about how she hoped her daughter would come home soon, forgetting it seemed, that Rava had actually died, which for her might have been a thing it was a blessing to forget, until at last one priest who saw her decline, who saw her obvious suffering and pain as her own mind tortured her, took pity on her. Whereupon he mixed a potion of hemlock and milk of the poppy, and helped her drink it saying, "Here, drink this, and you can go see Rava again." In his most soothing and gentle voice, she drank, and soon fell limply onto the dirty, soiled mat she'd been given, and looked up above her, she managed to raise her arms up and whisper, "Ahhh, there you are Rava, I've been waiting for you...no more waiting now...come to mommy..." and her eyes, once wide and mad, became clear and gentle, then closed, her arms fell down, and she slept forever after. The priest who pitied her paid for her burial so she wouldn't be dumped in a pit, and occasionally he stopped by and said a prayer for the girl, pitying that any mother should ever lose her daughter, and thinking it no wonder she went mad.

Gustav remained in the city for a few more days, allowing his surviving party to rest and relax, and helping out with advice for Cercei on how to reorganize her military, and of course, changing out some assignments that were made through the sale of offices, though she 'bought back' the offices from those unsuitable for them, at his advice, rather than simply firing them, giving them a small profit and minimizing antagonism, and he personally vetted those who had bought security or military positions, ensuring that those who were confirmed in their jobs, were fit for them, and seeing to the ouster of those who were not, but within a week he had rewarded his men and contributed enough to Cercei to be comfortable leaving the city, and he began the long march back to the capitol, losing the volunteer Red Paladins back to their temples and patrols along the way, promising that if Cercei needed his advice, she could always feel free to write to him.

Blue Rose spent time patrolling the woods and searching for stragglers among the enemy, but whereever they had gone, they were not anywhere near Kedyn, and the entire team doubted they'd ever want to come within sight of the city again. They were able to attend the coronation of the Viscountess's place as ruler of the city, and spent some spare time providing instruction to Black Justice members and even trading tips with trainers, they got to enjoy the city's seeming renewal as goods flowed and people worked again, they even purchased a souvenier set and sent it along with a letter to Princess Renner talking about their adventures. This assignment, after its initial danger, seemed to have turned in to the easiest one they'd ever had, with little more to do now except escort Black Justice members to villages surrounding the city and patrol for dangers that were already dead.

Lakyus for her part, grew more and more comfortable around the three vampires, and her refusal to entertain her ugly thoughts, made them less frequent, even on peaceful days, though she still carried the guilt over her mistreatment of Evileye, who she preferred to address as Keeno in private, it served as a drive to be more considerate in her judgement, rather than something to flagellate herself over pointlessly. Her apostasy still troubled her sometimes, and more than once she awoke from a nightmare of facing the judgement of the gods and being punished, but when she woke and found the barefaced Keeno clinging to her arm in her sleep like the little sister she always saw the child sized vampire as, her fear of the gods faded again and she found the next time she fell asleep to be dreamless and pleasant.

So it wasn't just the city of Kedyn which was having good days, they did also, and enjoyed ample peace on a now much easier job...something that didn't change even when news reached the city that King Caspond had been assassinated, and the capitol was in chaos. Being far away, made the news shocking, but not dangerous for the small city, and being foreigners, Blue Rose cared little about politics beyond what they had to, especially the politically averse leader, Lakyus. So they focused on their job, and left national affairs to national leaders, and reveled in the rare quiet that this gave to them...that is until one evening over dinner when discussing the planned trip to E-Rantel after the mission was officially completed, she heard Neia Baraja coming through in a message spell, "Lakyus! Its Neia! I need you to fulfill your promise to me! I need your help NOW!"

Lakyus's expression went from jovial to serious, and her sisters stopped eating.

"Well Blue Rose, get ready to be called "Unholy Roses" once again by some self righteous bastards, we've got a job to do, this time for Neia Baraja of all people."

Spoons and forks were down and chairs pushed back as the team stood up.

"Well Pope Neia, we're at your service, open a gate, and we'll be right there."

**AN: So ends the story of "Unholy Rose" its been a helluva ride and I hope you found it to be worth reading every step of the way, I had a lot of fun with this one, changed a few things along the way, I'd intended for 'Momon' to make an appearance, but that's like sending Cocytus, you're just dropping a nuke on a housefly, no tension, no effort, just not as much fun and it shifts focus to much. If I had to do it all over again...I might have had them solve the murder instead of Neia, but frankly it was really the only spot that 'reintroducing' Neia to them seemed to work, so I can't say I regret it, but I do look forward to playing with that concept as it relates to them as a team again soon. Yes you did just read that Caspond died, and YES you will get to see his actual death. But his ACTUAL death scene will take place in 'God Rising' in a chapter coming up.**

**I'm about 99% satisfied with how this story went, though I had to stray a bit from my original outline, and I hope you found it to be worth reading as well. As it turns out I have to give a class on combat casualty care tomorrow, I'm afraid the next update to 'Memory & a Message' may be 'slightly' delayed, for now, my mind is drained and I need a break.**

**And of course...gimmie ALLLLLL the reviews! :) Feedback feeds my creative drive.**

**Incidentally, as promised, here are the books I've written:**

**Evolutionary Theory: An Introductory Primer**

**-A layman level explanation of the subject of Evolutionary Theory, its practical applications, and evidence. Its nothing heavy, really just a microtext, but some professors have found it helpful enough to give to first year biology students to help bridge the gap between college level knowledge and high school's limits, I was pretty proud of that one.**

**Reflecting on the Death of God**

**-A look at the origins of religious thought, the arguments, and the way a society changes when religiosity declines**

**I did a lot of research for this one, speaking as a former believer with a still devout family, it was a passion project, and since I love research, well...I really dug in there. Kind of on the heavy side if you're not interested in that niche topic though.**

**Robert's Rules of Modern Money Management**

**-Tips and tricks that help build financial stability, compensate for the way our own brain sometimes works against us, and simply do BETTER with our money, no matter how much or how little you have. This one is the result of helping a guy I knew get out of debt, now I occasionally give classes on financial management when time allows.**

**The Forever Queen**

**-A short children's story about how a pair of wicked rulers abusing their city and their power, are turned away from their destructive path by the intervention of the gods through the birth of their child, and their child too, was saved from a fate she did not ask for. Originally wrote this one as a gift for a dear friend who was going to have a child, named the little girl in the story after her.**

**Yes, I know the subjects are diverse, whenever I get interested in something, I kind of obsess over it until I'm satisfied. The money management one was kind of accidentally written, but that is a long, long story. You can find my real world regular writing by going to...well it rhymes with 'placebook' (I bet if I wrote it it would be blocked out) and searching for 'Church of the Basement Dragon' named after Carl Sagan's 'Dragon in the Garage' thought experiment.**


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